Patrick Mark Cooney (born 2 March 1931) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as a government minister in the cabinets of Liam Cosgrave (1973–1977) and Garret FitzGerald (1981–1982 and 1982–1987).
[2] He first stood as a candidate for Dáil Éireann in the Longford–Westmeath constituency at the 1961 general election but failed to win a seat, and he was defeated again in 1965 and 1969.
However, after the death of the Fianna Fáil TD Patrick Lenihan, Cooney was elected to the 19th Dáil in the Longford–Westmeath by-election in April 1970.
[3] After the 1973 general election, a Fine Gael–Labour Party National Coalition government to office, and Cooney was appointed to Liam Cosgrave's cabinet as Minister for Justice.
[4] In December 1973, the Supreme Court found in McGee v. The Attorney General that marital privacy was protected by the Constitution of Ireland, including a right to contraception.