He is married to Lily O'Keeffe; they have five sons and live in Kilnaboy, County Clare.
Political career
Killeen first held political office in 1985 when he was elected to Clare County Council and served on that body until 1997. He was chairman of that local authority from 1989–1991. At the 1992 general election, he was elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fianna Fáil TD for the Clare constituency for the first time and retained his seat at each subsequent election until his retirement in 2011.[3]
Killeen has served on a number of committees, including the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Science, the Committee on Procedure and Privileges and the Committee on Members' Interests in Dáil Éireann.
In January 2007, it emerged that Killeen's office had sent letters to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform advocating for the early release of a convicted child rapist. Killeen refused to resign as Minister of State.[4]
On 6 January 2011, Killeen announced his decision not to contest the 2011 general election, citing medical advice, having been diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2008.[6] He resigned as Minister for Defence on 19 January 2011.[2]
References
^"Tony Killeen". Oireachtas Members Database. Archived from the original on 7 November 2018. Retrieved 24 September 2009.