Timing is Everything

Timing is Everything THOMAS BYRNE TD

Sitting across a large and socially distant conference table, the newly appointed inister of State for uropean Affairs and former solicitor explains to Killian Morris how success, in his legal and political career, has been down to a mixture of hard work and good fortune

So many opportunities in life come to those who are in the right place at the right time and it seems that this affable unior inister has taken every opportunity life has presented to him. It is also abundantly clear how his legal training and experience as a solicitor have inuenced his political career and he is particularly anxious to recognise the central role that his friends and colleagues have played in his development. e spend a while chatting before the interview starts about mutual connections, (like all politicians he knows a lot of people) and he name checks a number of those from his LL course in Trinity as being some of his closest friends today.

Thomas yrne grew up in rogheda, the eldest of seven children. is father, Thomas Snr, was a local auctioneer who was always very ambitious for his children and encouraged them all to attend college. Thomas and his sister ary, now a partner in rien Lynam, both ended up as solicitors but Thomas had initially wanted to study history and politics in Trinity. e recalls “unfortunately, at the time, the points were too high but I ended up getting my second choice, which was Law in Trinity. My Dad had always wanted me to do law as he had a lot of dealings with solicitors as

I was disappointed at the time, but, as I like to say to young people now, sometimes it can ust land the right way and you take your opportunities

an auctioneer in Drogheda. I was disappointed at the time, but, as I like to say to young people now, sometimes it can just land the right way and you take your opportunities.”

The start of university life also led him to take his first step into politics. “I joined the Fianna Fáil Cumann on my first day in Trinity; my Dad, who was a County Councillor wanted me to join” as he explains how he first got involved in party politics. e also mentions that two cousins, on his mothers side, ichael and Colm illiard, had been T s for eath over many years. That said, he had to confine his Fianna Fil involvement to within the walls of Trinity College as he knew he couldnt have campaigned for Fianna Fil in rogheda, given his fathers position was as an Independent on the Council. Thomas also involved himself in the Law Society and the Students nion while on campus. ne of his lecturers on the LL course was the late rian Lenihan, former inister for Finance. e remembers fondly how close the relationship between the pair became “Brian was always a great mentor to me in politics. We always had a great connection, we [the Trinity Cumann] used to help him out on his early campaigns and then, subsequently, he helped me a lot when I first ran for the Dáil in

Killian Morris is a partner at AMOSS Solicitors. He is a member of the Parchment committee

2007.” f course, Lenihan was inister for Finance during the financial crisis while at the same time having been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, but it seems he was still very willing to give up his valuable time to others, including Thomas. ne such example was after Thomas lost his il seat in 211, ust three months before rians death rian phoned him from his sick bed to give him advice about his run for the Seanad. e says, as an aside, that he had intended to run on the agricultural panel for the Seanad but the Clerk of the Seanad was insistent that, as a solicitor, he had no option but to stand for the Cultural and Educational Panel, which was a tougher route. A number of weeks later, having traversed the country seeking out votes from councillors in every county, and with the benefit of Lenihans sage advice, yrne was elected to the 24th Seanad as one of 14 Fianna Fil senators.

Turning back to his political mentor, he recalls the final time that he spoke with Lenihan, about a month before he died “it was one Saturday morning and I was on my way to be on the panel on RTÉ Radio. He spoke to me for about an hour, I remember it well, I was at the Service Station in Sandymount”. There is little doubt that Thomas feels a huge debt of gratitude to rian Lenihan, and to the many other senior figures in politics, and in law, that he has worked with over the years, all of whom were so willing to give up of their valuable time to help him along the way. is legal studies in Trinity tended to focus on Law and Competition where (now udge) erard ogan was one of his lecturers. Following his graduation at the tender age of 21, Thomas yrne was hired as an apprentice solicitor by McCann Fit erald. e recalls being interviewed for the role at the time, and explaining that one of the reasons he wanted to work there was that he used to pass their impressive offices at arbourmaster Place on the train each day. The reply he got from the interviewer was that some of the lawyers in cCanns would be looking back longingly at those on the train, hoping to swap seats! uring his time in cCann Fit erald, his love of all things uropean would become very useful during his seat as an apprentice in the and Competition department but also when subseuently working in the same team as a ualified solicitor for three years. It is ironic now, so many years later, that he has ended up in his current position as Minister of State for uropean Affairs. hen I asked him whether this grounding has helped him in his current role, he replies “not much has changed really from a legal perspective. The numbering in the Treaty has changed - I still refer to Article 85 and 86 all the time!” e tells me the work he did as an apprentice and after, when ualified, included advising on merger notifications, dawn raids and he even had to attend the Special Criminal Court on one occasion, for a commercial client (which is rare for somebody working in a large commercial firm). e fondly recalls the mentorship and guidance of erald Fit erald in the group but also ichael ealy, who he worked under as an apprentice but who is still very much available to him, whenever he needs a steer. hile working for ichael, he was involved in the everly Cooper Flynn libel case, which attracted huge media attention at the time. ven though he had been on the team acting for Flynn in the case, their paths did not cross again until he bumped into her on his first day in the il in 2 .

After three years or so following ualification, he received and accepted a ob offer from ohn Feran of Feran Co in rogheda. This was a completely new experience for Thomas, in a general practice where you had to deal with anything and everything on a daily basis. e notes that ohn Ferran, like the partners in cCanns had a “great appreciation for grammar and words and how they are used; I hope I learnt something from them”. It is apparent, from speaking to those working in his office, that this is one trait that Thomas not only learnt but is now applying with rigour to every document being produced by his team in overnment uildings.

It was also during this time, while working in Feran Co, that opportunity came knocking for Thomas to get involved in national politics. Since leaving Trinity, he remained a member of Fianna Fil but had not been active. In advance of the 2 general election, a new constituency of Meath East had been created and the sitting T s were ary allace (FF) and the late Shane c ntee (F ). All parties were looking for the right candidate to fight it out for the third seat and Fianna Fil made the approach to yrne, asking would he run for the party and, as he says himself, it was definitely a case of “being in the right place at the right time”. e worked very hard on the ground in the run up to the election and was duly elected a first-time T for the constituency of eath ast. hile Thomas is at pains to point out how much he learnt from his time in a large law firm, he seems to also have taken a lot from his time in general practice. e points to the fact that, in his current position, he is regularly sent out to bat for the overnment on issues which are part of other Ministers’ departments, where you have to learn uickly. e readily acknowledges that the grounding he received as a general practice solicitor has certainly helped on that front. is ministerial role also involves reading and digesting large amounts of briefing material, something he believes that his legal training has prepared him well for.

As Minister for State with responsibility for uropean Affairs, Thomas yrne has been thrust into the rexit negotiations at a critical time for Ireland. Conscious that this interview wont be published for a number of weeks, he is naturally reluctant to predict or opine on anything specific. e obviously hopes for a deal and he re-iterates the message that the Irish overnment is very confident and happy with how the negotiating team are handling negotiations. e mentions that he had personally met with ichel arnier (chief negotiator for the

in rexit negotiations) only the week previously to get an update on the current position. e explains that the ob invariably entails a lot of travel, although the Covid-19 restrictions mean that travel is more or less confined to visits to key meetings of the eneral Affairs Council where he represents Ireland. A uent Irish speaker, he uses Irish at all formal meetings of the eneral Affairs Council but his working knowledge of French and Italian are eually important in communicating with his uropean colleagues. Also, when the uropean Affairs Council meets, the Taoiseach represents Ireland but Thomas, as inister for uropean Affairs, will also be in attendance in an important supporting role, given the preparatory work that is done at eneral Affairs Council, in advance of the leaders summits.

I ask him about what he feels are the important issues facing Ireland at a uropean level (apart from rexit) and he cites two in particular.

First, he says “we have the European Budget which is currently under negotiation between the [European] Parliament and the Council”. e highlights the importance of the Recovery Fund, as part of these negotiations the hope being that Ireland (and indeed the rest of urope) will massively benefit from this vital cash inection to its economy in the aftermath of the pandemic hopefully in the New ear.

I assume the second key issue is going to be maintaining Irelands corporate tax rate but he is clear that the governments view is that this is a sovereign matter which is not up for discussion. That said, he thinks that another initiative is currently gaining traction on an level which could have a similar impact on Ireland. This is the concept of own resources. This is where the strives to be less reliant on international trade and instead focuses on strategic autonomy where uropean companies can serve the uropean market, rather than having to import essential products. Thomas explains that this isnt necessarily attractive to Ireland as we rely so much on being an open economy and this would be a move away from free trade. e notes that “some Europeans would not be happy that the American multinationals did so well in Europe and there is a push on to create some kind of European alternatives now but I don’t think they are going to happen through government fiat. It needs to happen organically through investment in research. I think from an Irish perspective we need to ensure this doesn’t end up becoming a barrier to the free trade we have benefited from”.

Thomas Byrne at a glance

AGE 43 FIRST ELECTED TO DÁIL: 2007 CURRENT ROLE: Minister of State for European Affairs FAMILY: Married to Ann. They have three children. FORMER SOLICITOR AT: McCann FitzGerald and Feran & Co.

oving closer to home, I ask him about the apparent ‘sea change’ we are currently seeing in Irish politics, particularly with the rise of populism which is reective of what has happened in the S and the . e agrees that this is a significant challenge. “The rise of populism is an issue. Sinn Féin are avowedly populist. They maintain they are left wing populists rather than right wing populists but I think it is pretty similar. I don’t think it is good for the country because I think we need to have clear views on what is to be done not just to dance to the latest tune” he says. e hopes that more people can get involved in centre ground’ politics and he singles out solicitors as being a cohort who could probably contribute more. hen asked about what they are doing to combat populism, he says they are working hard but are still worried that that there are too many people “sitting on the sidelines and letting the slide [to populism] happen”. e also acknowledges that there is a need for the ‘centre ground’ of politics “which has served the country well before”, to deliver for the people. e also points to the steps made by government in recent times to support people, during the pandemic, but also “the need to foster an environment where jobs can be created and sustained”. utside of politics, Thomas is married to Ann unt with three children (Sinad, Toms and aithi). is weekends are spent, like much of his generation, driving the kids to and from sports with time for little else The family are heavily involved in St Columcilles AA club although he admits he was never that sporty himself “it was my wife, she played inter county football for four counties; Sligo, London, Dublin and Meath. She only retired a couple of years back. She was my entrée into the world of sport”. e also enoys going on family camping trips to urope (in a tent and not a mobile home he stresses) which he hopes to do again, when the health crisis is over.

Finally I ask Thomas whether he will ever make a return to life as a solicitor. e laughs and uips “I hope not!” but this is understandable as this would likely mean he has lost his il seat. “The one thing about politics is it doesn’t last forever; so who knows?” he says.

No doubt, given his life to date, Thomas will find something fulfilling, whenever his political ourney ends. In the meantime, there is little doubt that the Meath East T has not yet finished climbing the rungs of the domestic political ladder. aybe we will meet in an even bigger office the next time .