Page "Michael O'Kennedy" Paragraph 9

O ' Kennedy's tenure in the European Commission was an unhappy one.

He quickly grew bored of the mundane day-to-day work as a commissioner and missed the cut-and-thrust nature of Irish politics, which was going through a particularly unstable period.

A general election was called for February 1982 and O ' Kennedy decided to return to contest his old seat.

His gamble paid off as he was returned to the Dáil for Tipperary North oce again and he resigned his European Commissioner post.

O ' Kennedy's return was seen as an attempt to assert his claim to the future leadership of Fianna Fáil, something that had been a contentious issude under Haughey and his failure to secure an overall majority in two elections.

Fianna Fáil returned to power with the help of a number of independent TDs and O ' Kennedy demanded a senior government position.

His request was refused.

Haughey did offer him the post of Attorney General but O ' Kennedy declined.

As a result he was left out of the short-lived administration.