Michael Yeats

Who was Michael Yeats?

Michael Butler Yeats was an Irish barrister and Fianna Fáil politician.

His father was the poet W. B. Yeats, who also served as a member of Seanad, and his mother was Georgie Hyde-Lees. His sister Anne Yeats was a painter and designer, as was his uncle Jack Butler Yeats. Michael was educated at Trinity College, Dublin and was an officer in the College Historical Society. He unsuccessfully stood for election to Dáil Éireann at the 1948 general election and the 1951 general election for the Dublin South–East constituency.

Following the 1951 election, Yeats was nominated to the 7th Seanad by the Taoiseach Éamon de Valera. He stood at the subsequent election in 1954 for the 8th Seanad but was not elected.

From 1961 to 1980, he was a member of Seanad Éireann. In 1961 he was elected to the 10th Seanad by the Labour Panel. In 1965 he was nominated by the Taoiseach Seán Lemass to the 11th Seanad. In 1969 he was elected to the 12th Seanad by the Cultural and Educational Panel, and re-elected to the 13th Seanad in 1973. In 1977, he was nominated by the Taoiseach Jack Lynch to the 14th Seanad. He resigned from the Seanad on 12 March 1980.