1970/71:Appointed president of the UCG Students' Union. He later becomes president of the Union of Students of Ireland between 1972 and 1974.
1974:Appointed national secretary of the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union.
1985:Wins a seat on Dublin County Council in the local elections of 1985 with Sinn Féin the Workers' Party.
1989:First elected to the Dáil as a Workers' Party TD. He later joins Democratic Left when six of the Workers' Party's TDs leave to form DL.
1992:He accepts a £2,000 cash donation from PR executive Frank Dunlop. The money is later sent back after a discussion with local DL party members.
1994:He is appointed as minister of state in the rainbow government with special responsibility for commerce, science, technology and consumer affairs. He serves until the government loses office in 1997.
1999:Labour and Democratic Left merge. He is one of the chief proponents of the move. He was previously a member of the Labour Party, quitting in 1976 because of its alliance with Fine Gael.
2002:He is elected leader of the Labour Party, taking over from Ruairí Quinn after a disappointing general election.
2004:The party performs well in the local elections, breaking the threshold of 100 county councillors.
2007:The party fails to make an impact in the general election, returning with the same number of seats it won in 2002.