Burke and Troy poised to become Ministers of State
Two local TDs are likely to be among those named as Ministers of State by the Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael-Green coalition government this evening.
Mullingar Fine Gael TD Peter Burke (pictured above, right) is expected to be named as Minister of State in Housing with responsibility for Local Government and Planning, while sources say that Fianna Fáil's Deputy Robert Troy (above, left) is tipped for a role as Minister of State under Tánaiste Leo Varadkar’s Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, along with Fine Gael Meath West TD Damien English.
They are the first ministers in this end of the constituency since Deputy Willie Penrose was appointed as a “super junior” Minister, with a seat at cabinet, in the 2011 coalition formed between Fine Gael and Labour.
Prior to that it had been thirty years since there was last a minister in this area, Gerry L’Estrange having served as Minister of State at the Department of Defence from June 1981-November 1981.
The last time there was a minister of any kind specifically from Mullingar was in 1933, when James Geoghegan – a native of Walshestown and Fianna Fáil TD for Longford/Westmeath – served as Minister for Justice.
It is shaping up to be a proud day for Deputy Burke’s parents Peter and Mary and his wife Olivia (Doolan) from Crookedwood and sons Leo, who is 4, and Ted, 18 months.
Deputy Burke, a chartered accountant by profession, was first elected to the Dáil in May 2016.
A native of Clonmore, he grew up on a farm and after receiving his primary education at St Mary’s NS he attended Coláiste Mhuire before going to NUIG to study commerce.
He graduated in 2004 and was on the shortlist for a position with a fund management company in Dublin when he received the offer of a three and a half year training contract with the financial firm Stephens Cooke in Mullingar, which would lead to him qualifying as an accountant.
Deputy Burke first ran for election to public office as a 20-year-old, in 2004, seeking a seat on Westmeath County Council but lost out by only six votes.
He won a council seat in the 2009 local election and was re-elected in 2014.
His first attempt at winning a Dáil seat came in 2007; he tried again in 2011 and then in 2016 when he won his seat - which he held at this year's election.
A keen fan of horse racing, Deputy Burke is a member also of Mullingar Shamrocks GAA Club.
Deputy Troy, meanwhile, is a native of Ballynacargy, and a son of Paddy and Sarah Troy. The 37-year-old is a former pupil of Emper National School who later studied at St Finian’s College, Mullingar.
Heavily involved in Ballynacargy GAA, Deputy Troy is a nephew of former Westmeath GAA county board chairman, Fr Ulic Troy. He worked in the banking sector before returning to run the post office in Ballynacargy.
By that time, Troy was co-opted to Westmeath County Council before defending his seat in the 2004 and 2009 local elections.
As one of Fianna Fáil’s rising stars, he was one of the few positive stories for the party in the 2011 general election, bucking a national trend by winning a Dáil seat for the party in Longford/Westmeath – ahead of his FF running mates, Peter Kelly TD and Senator Mary O’Rourke.
He defended that seat in 2016, topping the poll in the constituency, and again at the most recent election in February, in which he also he helped deliver a seat for his running mate Joe Flaherty.
Recently, Deputy Troy served as Fianna Fáil’s party spokesperson for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, having also previously worked in the Arts and Heritage, Children, and Transport, Tourism and Sport shadow briefs.