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Neil Terence Columba Blaney (1 October 1922 – 8 November 1995) was an Irish people politician. He was first elected to Dáil Éireann in 1948 as a Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála (TD) representing Donegal East. A high-profile member of the party, Blaney served as a government minister several times; he was Minister for Posts and Telegraphs (1957), Minister for Local Government (1957–1966) and Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries (1966–1970). In 1970 Blaney's career was radically altered when, alongside Charles Haughey, he was involved in the Arms Crisis and stood accused of clandestinely arranging to provide weapons to the newly-emergent Provisional Irish Republican Army. Although later acquitted of wrongdoing in an Irish court, Blaney's involvement in the crisis saw him stripped of his ministries and eventually forced his expulsion from Fianna Fáil. A dogged political campaigner, Blaney managed to retain his seat in Donegal and remained a TD for another two decades, running under the banner of "Independent Fianna Fáil". In addition to being a TD, Blaney also entered into European politics, becoming a member of the European Parliament in 1979. Blaney was a holder of both offices when he died in 1995. Entering the Dáil as its youngest member, he left it as the oldest member.
In 1966 Lemass resigned as Taoiseach and Fianna Fáil leader. The subsequent leadership election saw George Colley and Charles Haughey emerge as the two front-runners. Blaney was unimpressed with the choice and, with the support of the like-minded Kevin Boland, he threw his hat in the ring, declaring himself to be the "Radical Republican" candidate. However outside the Northwest and apart from Boland, Blaney failed to attract much support. After some pressure from Lemass the Cork politician, Jack Lynch, entered the race and was deemed to be an unbeatable candidate. Haughey and Boland withdrew in support of Lynch, however, Colley forced a contest. He was defeated heavily with Lynch becoming party leader and Taoiseach. In the subsequent cabinet reshuffle Blaney was appointed Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries.
In December 1969 Blaney declared in Donegal that "the Fianna Fáil Party has never taken a decision to rule out the use of force if the circumstances in the Six Counties so demanded".
There was general surprise when, in an incident known as the Arms Crisis, Blaney, along with Haughey, was sacked from Taoiseach Jack Lynch's cabinet amid allegations of the use of the funds to import arms for use by the new emergent Provisional IRA. Opposition leader Liam Cosgrave was informed by the Garda that a plot to import arms existed and included government members. Cosgrave told Lynch he knew of the plot and would announce it in the Dáil next day if he did not act. Lynch asked for Haughey and Blaney's resignations. Both men refused, saying they did nothing illegal. Lynch then advised President de Valera to sack Haughey and Blaney from the government. Kevin Boland resigned in sympathy, while Mícheál Ó Móráin was dismissed one day earlier in a preemptive strike to ensure that he was not the Minister for Justice when the crisis broke. Lynch chose government chief whip Des O'Malley for the role. Haughey and Blaney were subsequently tried in court along with an army Officer, Captain James Kelly, and Albert Luykx, a Belgian people businessman who allegedly used his contacts to buy the arms. At trial, all the accused were acquitted, but many of their critics refused to recognise the verdict of the courts. Although Blaney was cleared of wrongdoing, his ministerial career was brought to an end.
Lynch subsequently moved against Blaney so as to isolate him in the party. He was defeated by George Colley in a vote for the position of Joint Honorary Treasurer at the 1971 Ardfheis, while his constituency colleague, Liam Cunningham, had been appointed a Parliamentary Secretary in the cabinet reshuffle. In the Dáil, Blaney abstained on a motion of no confidence on the worthiness of cabinet minister Jim Gibbons for office, sponsored by the opposition. Paudge Brennan and Des Foley acted similarly and, while the government survived, they were all expelled from the parliamentary party. When Blaney and his supporters tried to organise the party's national collection independently, Lynch acted, and in 1972 Blaney was expelled from the Fianna Fáil party for 'conduct unbecoming'.
At the 1979 European elections Blaney topped the poll in the Connacht–Ulster constituency to the annoyance of Fianna Fáil. He sat in the Technical Group of Independents and served as chair of the group along with the Italian Radical Marco Pannella and Danish left-wing Eurosceptic Jens-Peter Bonde. He narrowly lost the seat at the 1984 election to Ray MacSharry but was returned to serve as an MEP in 1989 election where he sat with the regionalist Rainbow Group. He also canvassed for IRA Bobby Sands in the Fermanagh and South Tyrone by-election, in which Sands was elected to Westminster.
Blaney contracted cancer from which he died at the age of 73 on 8 November 1995. He held his Dáil seat until his death and was the reigning Father of the Dáil at that time. His death occurred at the Mater Private Hospital in Dublin.
In the resulting by-election on 2 April 1996, the Fianna Fáil candidate reclaimed the seat. However, Blaney's brother, Harry Blaney, was elected as an Independent Fianna Fáil TD at the 1997 general election. He was replaced by his son, Niall Blaney, who was elected at the 2002 general election. But in July 2006 Niall rejoined Fianna Fáil. This was opposed by other members of the Blaney family, including all seven children of Neil Blaney and his widow Eva, who issued a press release prior to Niall Blaney's decision castigating the Fianna Fáil party and disassociating themselves from any so called 'truce' with them.
A road in Letterkenny is named the Neil T. Blaney Road in his honour. He is buried in Sutton.
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