John Ormonde

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John Michael Ormonde (15 September 1905 – 25 June 1981) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician from Waterford. He was born in Lismore, County Waterford, the son of a shopkeeper, and went to Lismore CBS. As a member of Fianna Éireann, he carried dispatches during the Irish Civil War. He was arrested in 1923 before turning seventeen, spent time in Lismore Castle and Fermoy, escaped, and stayed on the run until the war ended. He trained as a teacher at De La Salle College Waterford, qualifying in 1928, and became principal of Kilmacthomas National School in 1932. He married Hanna Mary Hickey in 1931; they had four children, including Donal, who later served as a Fianna Fáil TD for Waterford.

Ormonde helped found Fianna Fáil in Waterford and served on Waterford County Council. He was elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fianna Fáil TD for Waterford in a 1947 by-election. In 1957 he joined Éamon de Valera’s cabinet as Minister for Posts and Telegraphs, serving until 1959. He lost his Dáil seat in 1965 but was elected to the 11th Seanad on the Labour Panel that year, serving as a senator until 1969. He died in 1981 in County Waterford.