Éamon Ó Cuív
The TD who represented Connemara for thirty-two years came to it as a young co-op manager. Éamon Ó Cuív, grandson of Éamon de Valera through his mother Emer, arrived in the Gaeltacht at twenty-three to run a newly formed co-operative, met the problems of rural roads and water at first hand, and went from cumann chairman to the Seanad in 1989 and the Dáil in 1992. He held Galway West until 2024.
Checked against the source on 2026-09-19.
Houses of the Oireachtas, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Lough Mask, Ashford castle on the 3D model; tap a pin for its page and directions.
Name and family
His father Brian Ó Cuív was professor of Celtic Studies at UCD; his mother Emer died in February 2012 aged 93, the last of de Valera's daughters; Vivion de Valera was his uncle and Síle de Valera his cousin. The surname was Ó Caoimh until his grandfather Shán Ó Cuív, a Cork journalist, respelled it under his own simplified spelling system, An Leitriú Shimplí, which is why a v appears in an Irish name.
Ministries
In 1997 he became Minister of State for the Gaeltacht and the islands under his cousin Síle de Valera, moved departments in 2001, and from 2002 to 2010 was Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, the years in which Connemara Airport, the Gaeltacht co-operatives and Údarás projects were his brief. He was Minister for Social Protection in 2010 and 2011 and briefly Minister for the Environment and for Defence in early 2011 as ministers resigned. Micheál Martin made him deputy leader on 8 August 2011; he resigned the post on 29 February 2012. He lives in the Corr na Móna and Clonbur country on Lough Corrib's north shore, and the model on this page pins the village.
Questions people ask
Is Éamon Ó Cuív related to Éamon de Valera?
How long was Éamon Ó Cuív a TD?
Written from Wikipedia, "Éamon Ó Cuív" (CC BY-SA 4.0), read on 2026-09-19, and from the OpenStreetMap places on the model. Nothing has been added from memory; follow the source for its footnotes.