Jim O'Callaghan


Jim O'Callaghan is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who has been a Teachta Dála for the Dublin Bay South constituency since 2016.
He was a member of Dublin City Council from 2009 to 2016. He unsuccessfully ran as a candidate for Fianna Fáil in the 2007 general election in Dublin South-East. O'Callaghan practises as a barrister and is a senior counsel.

Parliamentary career

He was on the Fianna Fáil negotiating team in talks on government formation in 2016. Early on 9 April 2016, O'Callaghan's home hosted a covert meeting between O'Callaghan, Leo Varadkar, Deirdre Gillane and Andrew McDowell. It lasted for more than an hour.
On 19 May 2016, he was appointed as Fianna Fáil Spokesperson for Justice and Equality, by party leader Micheál Martin TD. As the Opposition Spokesperson for Justice and Equality, he drafted and secured cross-party support his Parole Bill which was passed by the Oireachtas and became an Act. It comprehensively reforms the system of parole giving victims of crime and their families the right to be heard during the parole process. The Oireachtas also passed his proposals to expand the powers of the Criminal Assets Bureau into law.
In November 2016, O'Callaghan met with some of those who had been sexually abused as boys by Bill Kenneally, Fianna Fáil tallyman and cousin of former Fianna Fáil TD Brendan Kenneally. Brendan Kenneally had previously acknowledged that he had been aware of his cousin's crimes before his sentencing to 14 years imprisonment. The issue re-emerged when Fianna Fáil candidate Mary Butler had Kenneally involved in canvassing for her ahead of the 2016 general election, at which she was first elected to Dáil Éireann. Those who met with O'Callaghan in 2016 said in 2020 that "there has been no help for us since", when the issue emerged once more after Kenneally canvassed for Butler ahead of the 2020 general election, visited the homes of some of those who had been abused and was reported to be renting Butler's constituency office to her.
O'Callaghan declined the position of Minister of State at the Department of Justice in the Government of the 33rd Dáil offered to him by Taoiseach Micheál Martin Martin, stating that he wished to remain on the backbenches, providing a voice in Fianna Fáil outside of government, while also making the party more attractive to younger voters.

Legal career

O'Callaghan has a BCL degree from University College Dublin, a Masters in Law and an M.Phil in criminology from Sidney Sussex College, at Cambridge University, and a barrister-at-law degree from the King's Inns. In 2000, he represented Taoiseach Bertie Ahern in defamation proceedings against a businessman, appearing with future Attorneys General Rory Brady and Paul Gallagher. A barrister, he was made a senior counsel in 2008. O'Callaghan also served as a legal adviser to Fianna Fáil from January 2011 to his election to the Dáil. In 2014, he co-edited a book titled, Law and Government: A Tribute to Rory Brady. O'Callaghan had devilled for Brady, who was later appointed Attorney General of Ireland. O'Callaghan has represented many high-profile clients in defamation cases, including Louis Walsh, Julia Kushnir, Gerry Kelly, Ivan Yates, Jim Higgins, Denis O'Brien, Justin Timberlake, Rosanna Davison and Tulisa Contostavlos. He has also appeared in two of Ireland's largest commercial court disputes: Fyffes v DCC and Menolly Homes v Irish Asphalt Limited.

Personal life

He played rugby at a senior level, representing UCD, Cambridge University, London Irish, Wanderers, Leinster and Connacht. He was also capped for Ireland at under-21 level. He is a frequent cyclist, regularly cycling to Leinster House and advocates for the expansion of cycling infrastructure in Dublin.
He has four sisters, one of whom is the Irish broadcaster Miriam O'Callaghan.