He was educated at the Christian Brothers school in Athy and the O'Brien Institute in Dublin.
Bermingham was appointed by the government to the position of Minister of State at the Department of Finance with responsibility for the Office of Public Works.
[4] He served in that post until early 1982 when the government of Garret FitzGerald fell in a vote on the budget.
When a new Fine Gael–Labour Party coalition came to power after the November 1982 general election Bermingham returned to same position.
He remained active in local politics and was elected to Kildare County Council in 1991 as an Independent.