The Minister for Defence () is a senior minister in the Government of Ireland and leads the Department of Defence. The current Minister for Defence is Helen McEntee, TD. She is also Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade.
thumb|The [[Department of Defence (Ireland)|Department of Defence headquarters are in Newbridge, County Kildare]]
The department is responsible for the Irish Defence Forces. The Ministers and Secretaries Acts 1924 assigned the minister the additional title of Commander-in-Chief as the Chairman of the Council of Defence. The Defence Act 1954 removed this title, as a result of the reconstitution of the Council of Defence. The President of Ireland, a largely ceremonial role, is considered the Supreme Commander of the Defence Forces. In practice, the Minister acts on the President's behalf and reports to the Irish Government. The Minister for Defence is advised by the Council of Defence on the business of the Department of Defence.
The Minister is assisted by a Minister of State at the Department of Defence, Thomas Byrne, TD.
Ministers for Defence since 1919
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Name
!colspan="2"|Term of office
!colspan="2"|Party
!Government(s)
|-
|Richard Mulcahy<br />(1st time)
|22 January 1919
|1 April 1919
|
|1st DM
|-
|Cathal Brugha
|1 April 1919
|9 January 1922
|
|2nd DM3rd DM
|-
|Richard Mulcahy<br />(2nd time)
|10 January 1922
|19 March 1924
|
|4th DM1st PG2nd PG5th DM<br />1st EC2nd EC
|- bgcolor=#E6E6AA
|W. T. Cosgrave
|20 March 1924
|21 November 1924
|
|2nd EC
|-
|Peter Hughes
|21 November 1924
|23 June 1927
|
|2nd EC
|-
|Desmond FitzGerald
|23 June 1927
|9 March 1932
|
|3rd EC4th EC5th EC
|-
|Frank Aiken
|9 March 1932
|8 September 1939
|
|6th EC7th EC8th EC1st2nd
|-
|Oscar Traynor<br />(1st time)
|8 September 1939
|18 February 1948
|
|2nd3rd4th
|-
|Thomas F. O'Higgins
|18 February 1948
|7 March 1951
|
|5th
|-
|Seán Mac Eoin<br />(1st time)
|7 March 1951
|13 June 1951
|
|5th
|-
|Oscar Traynor<br />(2nd time)
|13 June 1951
|2 June 1954
|
|6th
|-
|Seán Mac Eoin<br />(2nd time)
|2 June 1954
|20 March 1957
|
|7th
|-
|Kevin Boland
|20 March 1957
|11 October 1961
|
|8th9th
|-
|Gerald Bartley
|11 October 1961
|21 April 1965
|
|10th
|-
|Michael Hilliard
|21 April 1965
|2 July 1969
|
|11th12th
|-
|Jim Gibbons
|2 July 1969
|9 May 1970
|
|13th
|-
|Jerry Cronin
|9 May 1970
|14 March 1973
|
|13th
|-
|Paddy Donegan
|14 March 1973
|2 December 1976
|
|14th
|- bgcolor=#E6E6AA
|Liam Cosgrave
|2 December 1976
|16 December 1976
|
|14th
|-
|Oliver J. Flanagan
|16 December 1976
|5 July 1977
|
|14th
|-
|Bobby Molloy
|5 July 1977
|11 December 1979
|
|15th
|-
|Pádraig Faulkner
|12 December 1979
|15 October 1980
|
|16th
|-
|Sylvester Barrett
|15 October 1980
|30 June 1981
|
|16th
|-
|James Tully
|30 June 1981
|9 March 1982
|
|17th
|-
|Paddy Power
|9 March 1982
|14 December 1982
|
|18th
|-
|Patrick Cooney
|14 December 1982
|14 February 1986
|
|19th
|-
|Paddy O'Toole
|14 February 1986
|10 March 1987
|
|19th
|-
|Michael J. Noonan
|10 March 1987
|12 July 1989
|
|20th
|-
|Brian Lenihan
|12 July 1989
|31 October 1990
|
|21st
|- bgcolor=#E6E6AA
|Charles Haughey
|1 November 1990
|5 February 1991
|
|21st
|-
|Brendan Daly
|5 February 1991
|14 November 1991
|
|21st
|-
|Vincent Brady
|14 November 1991
|11 February 1992
|
|21st
|-
|John Wilson
|11 February 1992
|12 January 1993
|
|22nd
|-
|David Andrews<br />(1st time)
|12 January 1993
|15 December 1994
|
|23rd
|-
|Hugh Coveney
|15 December 1994
|23 May 1995
|
|24th
|-
|Seán Barrett
|23 May 1995
|26 June 1997
|
|24th
|-
|David Andrews<br />(2nd time)
|26 June 1997
|8 October 1997
|
|25th
|-
|Michael Smith
|8 October 1997
|29 September 2004
|
|25th26th
|-
|Willie O'Dea
|29 September 2004
|18 February 2010
|
|26th27th28th
|- bgcolor=#E6E6AA
|Brian Cowen
|18 February 2010
|23 March 2010
|
|28th
|-
|Tony Killeen
|23 March 2010
|19 January 2011
|
|28th
|-
|Éamon Ó Cuív
|20 January 2011
|9 March 2011
|
|28th
|-
|Alan Shatter
|9 March 2011
|7 May 2014
|
|29th
|- bgcolor=#E6E6AA
|Enda Kenny
|7 May 2014
|11 July 2014
|
|29th
|-
|Simon Coveney<br />(1st time)
|11 July 2014
|6 May 2016
|
|29th
|-
|Enda Kenny
|6 May 2016
|14 June 2017
|
|30th
|-
|Leo Varadkar
|14 June 2017
|27 June 2020
|
|31st
|-
|Simon Coveney<br />(2nd time)
|27 June 2020
|17 December 2022
|
|32nd
|-
|Micheál Martin
|17 December 2022
|23 January 2025
|
|33rd34th
|-
|Simon Harris
|23 January 2025
|18 November 2025
|
|35th
|-
|Helen McEntee
|18 November 2025
|Incumbent
|
|35th
|}
;Notes
See also
- Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces (Ireland)
- Minister of State at the Department of Defence
- Director of Military Intelligence (Ireland)