Tony Heffernan
Tony Heffernan worked for 29 years in the Oireachtas, holding a number of positions over that time. He was one of the longest-serving backroom political staff members and was highly regarded by politicians and journalists.
For the 11 years prior to his retirement from the Oireachtas in April 2011, Tony was Press and Parliamentary Director for the Labour Party, working closely with three Labour Party Leaders in that period: Ruairi Quinn, Pat Rabbitte and Eamon Gilmore. He headed the Labour Party Press Office and dealt extensively with the print and electronic media at both national and local levels. He also advised the Labour Party Leader and the Parliamentary Party on media strategy and briefed the Leader and other senior members in advance of media interviews. He was a key member of the Labour Party’s election team for the 2011 general election, which saw the party win its highest ever number of seats.
In his capacity as Parliamentary Director, Tony advised the Party Leader, the Whip and the Parliamentary Party on Dáil strategy. He assessed government legislation and advised the Parliamentary Party on appropriate positions to adopt. He also drafted parliamentary questions, motions and amendments, and prepared the Party Leader for televised Leaders’ Questions. His responsibilities required him to keep abreast of the activities of government departments and all public bodies, and he acquired an extensive knowledge of the system of government, the operation of the Oireachtas and the role of state and public bodies.
Tony served as Assistant Government Press Secretary (as the nominee of Democratic Left) with the Rainbow Coalition Government between 1994 and 1997. He dealt on a daily basis with the Taoiseach, the Attorney General and other senior ministers. He briefed the national and international media on behalf of the Government, and was a member of the press secretariat that managed media relations during the Irish Presidency of the EU. He was also a member of the Government’s media strategy groups for the successful divorce and bail referenda.
An Irish Times columnist described Tony’s retirement from the Oireachtas in April 2011 as ‘the end of an era around Leinster House’ and said of him: ‘he is known to possess one of the sharpest political noses of anyone in the business and has a prodigious memory’. The Tánaiste, Eamon Gilmore, described him as having extremely sound political judgement and said he was unrivalled in the work that he did.
Tony joined the team at DHR Communications in autumn 2011. Immediately prior to joining our team, he served as Media Director for Michael D. Higgins’ successful presidential election campaign.
Contact: tony@dhr.ie.