The Dukes family originally came from the north of England. His grandfather had served with the Royal Engineers in World War I and settled in Cork and then Kerry afterwards where he worked with the Post Office creating Ireland's telephone network. He also developed a keen interest in the Irish language.
He was educated by the Christian Brothers at Coláiste Mhuire, Dublin, and was offered several scholarships for third level on graduation, including one for the Irish language. His interest in the Irish language continues to this day, and he regularly appears on Irish-language television programmes.
On leaving school he attended University College Dublin, where he captained the fencing team to its first-ever Intervarsity title.
He was appointed as chief of staff to Ireland's EEC commissioner Dick Burke, a former Fine Gael politician.
Early political career
In the 1979 European Parliament election, Dukes stood as a Fine Gael candidate in the Munster constituency. He had strong support among the farming community, but the entry of T. J. Maher, a former president of the IFA, as an independent candidate hurt his chances of election. Maher topped the poll.
This minority Fine Gael–Labour Party coalition government collapsed in February 1982 on the budget,[5] but returned to power with a working majority in December 1982. Dukes was again appointed to cabinet, becoming Minister for Finance less than two years into his Dáil career.
He faced a difficult task as finance minister at this time. Ireland was heavily in debt while unemployment and emigration were high. Many of Fine Gael's plans were deferred while the Fine Gael–Labour Party coalition disagreed on how to solve the economic crisis. The challenge of addressing the national finances was made difficult by electoral arithmetic and a lack of support from the opposition Fianna Fáil party led by Charles Haughey.
Fine Gael failed to be returned to government at the 1987 general election and lost 19 of its 70 seats, mostly to the new Progressive Democrats. Outgoing Taoiseach and leader Garret FitzGerald stepped down and Dukes was elected leader of Fine Gael, becoming leader of the Opposition.
This was a difficult time for the country. Haughey's Fianna Fáil had fought the election on promises to increase spending and government services, and by attacking the cutbacks favoured by Fine Gael. The campaign produced the famous Fianna Fáil slogan that cuts in health spending affect the "old, the sick and the handicapped". However, on taking office, the new Taoiseach and his finance minister Ray MacSharry immediately drew up a set of cutbacks including a spate of ward and hospital closures. This presented a political opportunity for the opposition to attack the government.
When the government is moving in the right direction, I will not oppose the central thrust of its policy. If it is going in the right direction, I do not believe that it should be deviated from its course, or tripped up on macro-economic issues.
This represented a major departure in Irish politics whereby Fine Gael would vote with the minority Fianna Fáil Government if it adopted Fine Gael's economic policies for revitalising the economy.
The consequences of this statement were huge. The Haughey government was able to take severe corrective steps to restructure the economy and lay the foundations for the economic boom of the nineties. However, at a snap election in 1989 Dukes did not receive electoral credit for this approach, and the party only made minor gains, gaining four seats. The outcome was the first-ever coalition government for Fianna Fáil, whose junior partner was the Progressive Democrats led by former Fianna Fáil TD Desmond O'Malley.
1990 presidential election and loss of the leadership
Initially, Fianna Fáil's Brian Lenihan Snr was the favourite to win. However, after several controversies arose, relating to the brief Fianna Fáil administration of 1982, and Lenihan's dismissal as Minister for Defence midway through the campaign, the Labour Party's Mary Robinson emerged victorious. To many in Fine Gael, the humiliation of finishing third was too much to bear and a campaign was launched against Dukes' leadership. He was subsequently replaced as party leader by John Bruton.
Rainbow Coalition
Bruton brought him back to the front bench in September 1992, shortly before the November 1992 general election. In February 1994, Dukes became involved in a failed attempt to oust Bruton as leader and subsequently resigned from the front bench. Bruton became Taoiseach in December 1994. Dukes was not appointed to cabinet at the formation of the government.
In 2001, he backed Michael Noonan in his successful bid to become leader of Fine Gael.
Career post-politics
After 21 years, Dukes lost his Dáil seat at the 2002 general election. This contest saw many high-profile casualties for Fine Gael, including Deputy Leader Jim Mitchell, former deputy leader Nora Owen and others. Many local commentators felt that Dukes's loss was down to a lack of attention to local issues, for he was highly involved in European projects and had always enjoyed a national profile.
He retired from frontline politics that year and was subsequently appointed Director General of the Institute of International and European Affairs. He remained active within Fine Gael and served several terms as the party's vice-president.
From 2001 to 2011, Dukes was President of the Alliance Française in Dublin, and in June 2004, the French Government appointed him an Officer of the Legion of Honour.[6]
In December 2008, he was appointed by Finance Minister Brian Lenihan Jnr as a public interest director on the board of Anglo Irish Bank. The bank was subsequently nationalised, and he served on the board until the IBRC was liquidated in 2013.
In January 2009, Dukes was a judge on the TG4 reality TV show Feirm Factor.[7]
Dukes receives annual pension payments of €129,805.[10]
Personal life
Dukes has lived in Kildare Town since first being elected to represent the constituency in 1981. His wife Fionnuala (néeCorcoran) is a former local politician and served as a member of Kildare County Council from 1999 until her retirement in 2009.[1] She served as Cathaoirleach of the council from 2006 to 2007, becoming only the second woman to hold the position in the body's hundred-year history. They have two daughters.
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