Joseph Bermingham

Who was Joseph Bermingham?

Joseph Bermingham was an Irish Labour Party politician.

Bermingham was born in Castlemitchell, County Kildare. He was educated at the Christian Brothers school in Athy and the O'Brien Institute in Dublin. Bermingham worked as a shopkeeper before being elected in 1967 as a member of Kildare County Council. He was an unsuccessful candidate for Dáil Éireann at the 1969 general election and at a by-election in 1970. He was finally elected to the 20th Dáil as Labour Party Teachta Dála for the Kildare constituency at the 1973 general election.

After the 1981 general election, Labour and Fine Gael formed a coalition government, and Bermingham was appointed to the position of Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works. He served in that post until early 1982 when the government of Garret FitzGerald fell in a vote on the budget. When a new Fine Gael-Labour Party coalition came to power after the November 1982 general election Bermingham returned to that position, and held the post until he retired from the government in 1986.

Bermingham held his Dáil seat until he stood down at the 1987 general election. He remained active in local politics and was elected to Kildare County Council in 1991. By that time he had left the Labour Party, and was an independent representative.