Joseph Austin Currie was an Irish politician who served as a Minister of State with responsibility for Children's Rights from 1994 to 1997. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin West constituency from 1989 to 2002, representing Fine Gael, and as a Member of the Parliament of Northern Ireland (MP) for East Tyrone from 1964 to 1972, representing the Nationalist Party and later the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP).

The 1990 Irish presidential election was the tenth presidential election to be held in Ireland, the fifth to be contested by more than one candidate, and the first to have a female candidate and winner. It was held on Wednesday, 7 November 1990 and was won by Mary Robinson on a joint Labour Party and Workers' Party ticket. The election was the first time in history a Fianna Fáil candidate failed to win the presidency. It was also the first time the Labour Party had contested a presidential election. The election had one of the tightest margins of victory in Irish presidential elections history, and the final leg of the campaign was characterised by intense internal turmoil within the Fianna Fáil party as well as personal attacks on the candidates from competing political parties. The election was considered a political failure for the Fine Gael party and would cause their leader, Alan Dukes, to resign in the immediate aftermath.