Eugene, one of 13 children, put himself through college and was educated in UCD, University of Brussels and at King’s Inns.

In his early twenties, he worked in Patrick Hillery’s Cabinet at the European Commission in 1974. After that he worked with, and then succeeded, Alan Dukes as the Irish Farmers’ Association’s representative in Brussels. He then became a member of Peter Sutherland’s Cabinet in the Commission.

Upon returning to Ireland, Eugene became Director of Agra Trading, an international trading company based in Blackrock. He secured deals for Irish suppliers in difficult situations – including negotiating with Iraq during Saddam Hussein’s regime, with Algeria during its civil war and with pre- and post-Communist Russia.

Eugene signed the first ever beef contract between a European company and Georgia following a meeting with President Edward Shevardnadze, the former Soviet foreign minister.

Eugene is Non-Executive Director of Goldman Sachs (Dublin & Luxembourg) and Nasdaq (Ireland). He also practices as a Senior Counsel in the Law Library and appears regularly in the High Court, Supreme Court and the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg.

An ardent pro-European, he is Chairman of the Lawyers Group and Project Leader of the Justice and Home Affairs Group in the Institute of European Affairs (IEA), and has contributed to many publications on European law matters, both legal and media. He was also a leading advocate and campaigner in the Amsterdam Treaty and Nice Treaty referendum campaigns.

In the 2007 General Election, Eugene was the youngest of his party’s candidates for the Dáil, and won the nomination with more votes than all other candidates combined. He was elected Councillor to Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council in 2004 and voted Cathaoirleach (Chairperson) of the Council in 2006.

Peter Sutherland personally canvassed for Eugene in the Local Elections of 2004, and Garret FitzGerald made the rare gesture of endorsing his candidacy in the General Election, as did Alan Dukes.

Eugene is intimately tied to the Dún Laoghaire Constituency. He and his Danish wife Kista and two daughters, Caroline and Naja, live in Monsktown. His mother’s teaching career began in Loreto Abbey in Dalkey and she lived in Glasthule, while his aunt, uncle and grandparents lived in Stillorgan. Eugene is a member of Dún Laoghaire Golf Club and a trustee of De Vesci Tennis Club in Monkstown.

As Cathaoirleach of the Council, Eugene chaired a stable and successful partnership between Fine Gael and Labour at local level. With your support Eugene will help form a competent and caring Fine Gael-led Government – a Government committed to low taxation, to social justice and to the European Union. Eugene wants to help deliver effective management of our changing economy and competent, efficient government.