Gerard Reynolds (born 10 April 1961) is an Irish 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 � ...

politician from

County Leitrim County Leitrim ( ; gle, Contae Liatroma) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Connacht and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the village of Leitrim. Leitrim County Council is the local authority for the ...

. He was 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 ...

and later a TD for the Sligo–Leitrim constituency.

Early life and family

Reynolds was born in

Ballinamore Ballinamore (, meaning "mouth of the big ford") is a small town in County Leitrim, Ireland. Etymology , corrupted ''Bellanamore'', means "town at the mouth of the big ford", so named because it was a main crossing (ford) of the Yellow River. T ...

, County Leitrim, to Patrick J. Reynolds and his wife Tess. He received his secondary education at

Garbally College St. Joseph's College, Garbally Park (Irish: ''Coláiste Sheosaimh Naofa'') is an Irish voluntary Catholic secondary school situated in Garbally Park, the former seat of the Earl of Clancarty, near Ballinasloe in County Galway. It is a single-s ...

in Ballinasloe, Co Galway. His father Patrick was a Fine Gael TD and senator, and his grandfather

Paddy Reynolds Paddy may refer to: People *Paddy (given name), a list of people with the given name or nickname *An ethnic slur for an Irishman Birds *Paddy (pigeon), a Second World War carrier pigeon *Snowy sheathbill or paddy, a bird species *Black-faced sh ...

had been a TD until his assassination in 1932, when his widow Mary Reynolds was elected to succeed him, and held the seat for 29 years.

Political career

Elected to

Seanad Éireann Seanad Éireann (, ; "Senate of Ireland") is the upper house of the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann (the lower house). It is commonly called the Seanad or Senate and its memb ...

in 1987 on the

Industrial and Commercial Panel The Industrial and Commercial Panel ( ga, An Rolla Tionscail Agus Tráchtála) is one of five vocational panels which together elect 43 of the 60 members of Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the Oireachtas (the legislature of Ireland). The Ind ...

, Reynolds was first elected to

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( , ; ) is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature), which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann (the upper house).Article 15.1.2º of the Constitution of Ireland read ...

at the 1989 general election. He lost his seat at the 1992 general election to

Declan Bree Declan Bree (born 1 July 1951) is an Irish independent politician. He was a founder of the Sligo/Leitrim Independent Socialist Organisation in 1974, and was a member of that group until joining the Labour Party in 1991. He served in Dáil Éi ...

as part of the nationwide swing to

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

and returned to the 20th Seanad, elected again by the

. He regained his seat at the 1997 general election but lost it again to independent candidate

Marian Harkin Marian Harkin (born 26 November 1953) is an Irish Independent politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Sligo–Leitrim constituency since the 2020 general election, and previously from 2002 to 2007. She previously served as a Membe ...

at the 2002 general election. He was a member of

Leitrim County Council Leitrim County Council ( ga, Comhairle Chontae Liatroma) is the authority responsible for local government in County Leitrim, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing ...

from 1985 to 2014.

References

1961 births Living people Fine Gael TDs Members of the 18th Seanad Members of the 26th Dáil Members of the 20th Seanad Members of the 28th Dáil Local councillors in County Leitrim Fine Gael senators People educated at Garbally College {{Ireland-senator-stub

Early life and family

Political career

See also

References