Helen McEntee: The next Fine Gael leader in waiting?

Even to those who work within her ambit, the Fine Gael politician and Minister for Justice Helen McEntee is a bit of a mystery.

Many colleagues describe her as an incredibly hard worker with a core of steely ambition, and as a politician determined to make her mark both in her portfolio and party. Others say she is overly cautious and somewhat reserved, and that she can be hard to get to know. She is referred to as being solid but not showy; a steady hand.

Conversations about McEntee often turn inevitably to the same topic: the future leadership of Fine Gael.There is no doubt that she has emerged as a credible candidate to lead the party at some stage in the future – although she bats away questions about this when they arise in media interviews.

Raised on the family farm in Castletown, Co Meath, McEntee had a strong work ethic instilled in her from an early age by her late father, Shane McEntee. She once recalled that he would shout up the stairs at her and her siblings at 8am roaring at them to get up, telling them that half the day was already gone.

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She told Agriland in 2017: “There was always four ‘fs’ at home – family, football, Fine Gael and farming. My grandad was one of the founding members of the local Irish Farmers’ Association branch. Fine Gael and farming were married together.”

It is probably no surprise, then, that she had such a keen interest in politics as a student, completing a degree in economics, politics and law at Dublin City University. She then worked briefly for a subsidiary of Citibank, but soon discovered the job was not the right fit for her. She left to complete a master’s in journalism and media communications instead.

In the summer of 2010, she began working in Leinster House with her father, who was then an opposition TD, and later moved with him to work in the Department of Agriculture after the 2011 election, when he was appointed minister of state for food and horticulture.

Working in the department was an eye-opener for the young McEntee as she learned how the world of politics interacted with the civil service.

The sudden death of Shane McEntee, who took his own life just before Christmas in 2012, had a profound effect on her. Despite her grief, she resolved to continue his work and held on to the seat in the 2013 Meath East byelection.

She secured 9,356 votes, or 38.5 per cent of the vote in the first count.

Her first big promotion came after her re-election in 2016 when former taoiseach Enda Kenny named her minister of State for mental health and older people. After Leo Varadkar took over the reins of Fine Gael in the summer of 2017, McEntee was appointed as minister of state for European affairs.

Political observers say this is when she finally came out of her shell and began to shine. From Varadkar’s very first European Council summit, she was by his side. During her first year throughout crunch Brexit talks, observers say she was guarded and afraid to go off script. This was high-wire stuff, after all.

After 12 months or so, she had transformed into a much more self-assured presence: she was authoritative, calm and completely across the brief. The bashfulness had been replaced with a new confidence. Crucially, she established herself as a close confidante of Varadkar and it became known that he trusted her (and still does) intrinsically.

Varadkar loyalist

Her appointment as Minister for Justice in 2020 was both surprising and unsurprising. On the one hand, the ministry is notoriously tricky and is often entrusted to the most experienced ministerial candidate. On the other hand, she had put the work and sacrifice in – missed dinners, cancelled plans, exceptionally long working hours – to make herself an invaluable member of Varadkar’s team.

Her first few months in a senior ministry were rocky, however, amid a controversy over the appointment of former attorney general Séamus Woulfe to the Supreme Court. The whole episode cast an unflattering light on the Government and highlighted how opaque the judicial appointments system can be.

On the flip side, McEntee has earned herself much praise in other areas. Last December a scheme to regularise thousands of undocumented migrants was hailed as “historic”.

In 2021 she also became the first serving Cabinet member in the State’s history to take maternity leave after the birth of her son, Michael Shane Hickey, shining a much-needed light on the area of maternity entitlements for female politicians. Her husband, Paul Hickey, took six months’ parental leave from pharmaceutical company Novartis Ireland.

When McEntee returned from maternity leave, it was noticeable that she had little desire to talk at any great length about it: she mainly just wanted to crack on with the job.

In her personal life, she is known to enjoy horse riding and has tried her hand at tennis. She also once confessed to tuning out by watching Keeping Up with the Kardashians when she’s too exhausted to read after work.

In the coming months and years, her actions will be watched closely by her competitors. Some in Fine Gael paint a picture of a “Harris versus Helen” leadership contest when the time comes – referring to Minister for Higher Education Simon Harris. Held in high esteem by the party leader, McEntee might just fancy her chances even if progression in the world of politics is rarely simple.

Winter Nights

The Irish Times Winter Nights festival is a series of online talks and events taking place from January24th to 27th. On Monday, January 24th at 6.30pm, Helen McEntee talks to Jennifer Bray in an event titled State of the Nation.

For full line-up and tickets, see irishtimes.com/winternights.

A single €50 ticket admits ticket holders to all events at the festival. The Irish Times digital subscribers can purchase tickets at the discounted price of €25. Just ensure you are signed in and the discount will be applied automatically. The festival is sponsored by Peugeot.