Denis Cregan (born 4 May 1940) is an Irish

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

lican and former

Fine Gael Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil � ...

party politician from

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

, who served for 17 years as a

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

. A former branch vice-president of the

Irish Transport and General Workers' Union The Irish Transport and General Workers Union (ITGWU), was a trade union representing workers, initially mainly labourers, in Ireland. History The union was founded by James Larkin in January 1909 as a general union. Initially drawing its memb ...

, Cregan was a long-standing member of Cork City Council from 1979 to 2009, and was Lord Mayor of Cork from 1991 to 1992. He had unsuccessfully contested the Cork South-Central constituency at the

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

and February 1982 general elections. He stood in the 1982 Seanad elections, winning a seat on the Labour Panel, which he held until his defeat in the 1989 elections to the

19th Seanad Éireann This is a list of the members of the 19th Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the Oireachtas (legislature) of Ireland. These Senators were elected or appointed in 1989, after the 1989 general election and served until the close of poll for the ...

. He was unsuccessful again when he stood again in Cork South-Central at the 1992 general election, but in the subsequent elections to the 20th Seanad he was re-elected on the Labour Panel. He was re-elected in 1997 to the

21st Seanad This is a list of the members of the 21st Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the Oireachtas (legislature) of Ireland. Unless otherwise indicated, these Senators were elected or appointed in 1997, after the 1997 general election and served unt ...

, but was narrowly defeated in the 2002 elections to the

22nd Seanad This is a list of the members of the 22nd Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the Oireachtas (legislature) of Ireland. These Senators were elected or appointed in 2002, after the 2002 general election and served until the close of poll for the ...

. At the 2004 local elections, he held his seat on Cork City Council, though with a margin of less than 50 votes over the

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gri ...

candidate. In January 2009 he announced his retirement from politics and did not contest the 2009 local elections. He is well known in Cork for his chain of Fish and chip shops called Dino's.

References

1940 births Living people Fine Gael senators Local councillors in Cork (city) Lord Mayors of Cork Members of the 16th Seanad Members of the 17th Seanad Members of the 18th Seanad Members of the 20th Seanad Members of the 21st Seanad {{Ireland-senator-stub