World of Politics with Harry McGee

Ivan Yates retired from politics at just 41 when he slung his hook and decided to go into another business — but even then he was a veteran. Having been elected at the age of 21, he had two decades under his belt, much of it as a front-bench spokesman, with two-and-a-half years as a minister in the Rainbow Coalition between 1994 and 1997.

My only encounter with him when he was still a TD was a public meeting in Galway around 1991 over something to do with agriculture.

As regular readers who live outside the Galway City speed limits know, agriculture would not be my Mastermind topic. It would have been a rare moment for the late John Cunningham to assign me to a marking to do with farming.

I can’t for the life of me remember what the meeting was about, but it happened to be held in the Salthill Hotel — and I was the only reporter available. My only takeaway memory from it was that Yates loved to talk.

From an early age he was a man in a hurry.

Born in 1959, Yates came from a prosperous farming family from Enniscorthy in Co Wexford. He boarded at St Columba’s College in Dublin before going to Gurteen Agricultural College in Sligo when he was only 16.

He farmed at home for two years, and during that time he became interested in politics.

From a Church of Ireland background, and already a free market enthusiast, he plumped for Fine Gael. He was elected to Wexford County Council in 1979 and then to the Dáil in 1981 — the youngest TD in the house.

He said in his early years that he followed the “pothole” strategy; keeping his head down and focusing on constituency matters. But he obviously was ambitious for promotion despite his callowness.

When Garret FitzGerald stepped down in 1987, Yates was a key strategist for Alan Dukes in his leadership tussle with John Bruton and with Peter Barry. Dukes won the contest but did not promote Yates.

Dukes’ leadership of Fine Gael was best known for the Tallaght Strategy. During a time of economic crisis, where the national finances were in rag order, he agreed not to oppose the Budgets of the minority Fianna Fáil government from 1987 to 1989.

Pictured: Ivan Yates at his new Celtic Bookmakers office in Galway city.   Photograph: Joe O’Sjhaughnessy.  19/3/’04