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Martin George Southcote Mansergh (31 December 1946 – 26 September 2025) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as a Minister of State from 2008 to 2011. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Tipperary South constituency from 2007 to 2011. He was a Senator for the Agricultural Panel from 2002 to 2007. He played a leading role in developing Fianna Fáil policy on Northern Ireland.
Mansergh died in the Western Sahara on 26 September 2025, at the age of 78. He was on a trip there with other retired parliamentarians.
He was a key member of the team which formed the Fianna Fáil–Labour Party coalition in 1992 and was also involved in the formation of the Fianna Fáil–Progressive Democrats coalition in 1997. As a senior adviser to successive Taoisigh, Mansergh played a key role in the Northern Ireland peace process for over twenty years. He ran for Fianna Fáil as a Dáil candidate in the Tipperary South constituency at the 2002 general election but failed to be elected with 14.2% of the poll. However, Mansergh was elected to the 22nd Seanad by the Agricultural Panel in July of that year. At the 2007 general election he again ran for Fianna Fáil as a Dáil candidate in the Tipperary South constituency, this time being elected with 15.7% of the poll. He was appointed to the Council of State by President Mary McAleese and served from 2004 to 2011.
Until 2006 he wrote a weekly column for The Irish Times, but resigned because of the upcoming general election. In May 2008, he was appointed by the government of Brian Cowen as Minister of State at the Department of Finance with special responsibility for the Office of Public Works and Minister of State at the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism with special responsibility for the Arts.
In January 2009, he offered to quit his junior ministry post to save money and called on people to retain their Celtic Tiger style optimism and self-respect. He said: "We're not going to get anywhere by completely throwing overboard our self respect. We have achieved a tremendous amount in the past 20 years – they were the best 20 years in our history. There will be cycles – we rose very high and we are where we are now. We have to work our way out of this intelligently". However, he was re-appointed to his positions when Cowen reduced the number of junior ministers from 20 to 15.
Mansergh lost his seat at the 2011 general election.
He was vice-chair of the government's Expert Advisory Group on the Decade of Centenaries. Mansergh was elected a member of the Royal Irish Academy in May 2018. He had been a frequent contributor to The Irish Catholic. The Irish Catholic
Mansergh was mentioned by name in the TV series, Charlie, where Taoiseach, Charles Haughey, in a conversation with Alec Reid, places him in charge of drawing up a roadmap to peace in Northern Ireland.
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