An Interview with An Taoiseach, Michéal Martin

It was wonderful to have the opportunity to hear An Taoiseach talk about his childhood growing up, what inspired him, where he found his voice, why he chose a career in politics and what drives him today.

Here are just some of the facts we learned about Mícheál Martin:

He was born on 1st August 1960.

He has been the Taoiseach of Ireland since 27 June 2020 and leader of Fianna Fáil since 2011.

He was born in Cork and and has a twin brother called Pádraig.

He was the first to ban tobacco smoking in all Irish workplaces and Ireland became the first country to do so.

He attended University College Cork to study Bachelor in Arts and completed his Masters in Political Science.

He worked as a teacher for one year.

Growing up he admired Jack Lynch and loved playing football and soccer.

Dr Fidelma Healy Eames asked An Taoiseach to describe what it was like to be a Politician, a Minister and An Taoiseach:

A Politician is someone who listens and works on behalf of others.

A Minister gets on with people and makes changes to Laws

An Taoiseach must be a good team leader, have patience, be a good listener and follow through with decisions.

His biggest challenge at the moment is to tackle the housing crisis, tackle climate change and continue to lead the country during a pandemic.

It was nice to hear from An Taoiseach. We really enjoyed it.

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