Michael Lowry has been an indomitable opponent for election candidates in Tipperary, having won the last six elections as an Independent TD and three previous elections for Fine Gael.
First elected to the Dáil in 1987, Lowry (66) served as minister for transport, energy and communications during the rainbow coalition government between 1994 and 1996, before resigning and becoming an Independent.
He was educated in Thurles CBS and first elected to Tipperary North Riding Council in 1979 and later became the youngest ever chairman on the Tipperary GAA board in 1985.
He runs a commercial refrigeration business Garuda Ltd. He has also been involved with political scandals and court cases. He had negative findings made against him by the Moriarty tribunal.
In 2018, Lowry and his refrigeration company were fined a total of €25,000 having been convicted of two charges each of delivering an incorrect corporation tax return and failing to keep a proper set of accounts.
