Paddy O'Toole

Paddy O'Toole
Minister for Tourism, Fisheries and Forestry
In office 20 January – 10 March 1987
Taoiseach	Garret FitzGerald
Preceded by	Liam Kavanagh
Succeeded by	Brendan Daly
Minister for Defence
In office 14 February 1986 – 10 March 1987
Taoiseach	Garret FitzGerald
Preceded by	Patrick Cooney
Succeeded by	Michael J. Noonan
Minister for Fisheries and Forestry
In office 14 December 1982 – 14 February 1986
Taoiseach	Garret FitzGerald
Preceded by	Brendan Daly
Succeeded by	Liam Kavanagh
Minister for the Gaeltacht
In office 14 December 1982 – 10 March 1987
Taoiseach	Garret FitzGerald
Preceded by	Denis Gallagher
Succeeded by	Charles Haughey
In office 30 June 1981 – 9 March 1982
Taoiseach	Garret FitzGerald
Preceded by	Máire Geoghegan-Quinn
Succeeded by	Pádraig Flynn
Senator
In office 20 February – 3 April 1987
In office 1 June 1973 – 26 May 1977
Constituency	Nominated by the Taoiseach
Teachta Dála
In office June 1977 – February 1987
Constituency	Mayo East
Personal details
Born	(1938-01-15) 15 January 1938 County Mayo, Ireland
Political party	Fine Gael

Patrick O'Toole (born 15 January 1938) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician. He was nominated by the Taoiseach Liam Cosgrave to the 13th Seanad Éireann in 1973. He was first elected to Dáil Éireann on his second attempt at the 1977 general election as a Fine Gael Teachta Dála for Mayo East. O'Toole was just one of a handful of new Fine Gael TDs in what has gone down in history as the biggest landslide election victory for Jack Lynch's Fianna Fáil party.

O'Toole served in both cabinets of Garret FitzGerald in the 1980s, as Minister for the Gaeltacht (1981–1982, 1982–1987), Minister for Tourism, Fisheries and Forestry (1982–1986, 1987) and Minister for Defence (1986–1987). He retained his Dáil seat at each general election until he lost it at the 1987 general election. He was nominated to the 17th Seanad to fill a vacancy after the general election. He then retired from politics.