Michael Brennan (born 24 September 1946) is an Irish former politician from Adare in

County Limerick "Remember Limerick" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Limerick.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Munster , subdivision ...

who served as a member of

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 ...

. Brennan was a

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christian- ...

member of

Limerick County Council Limerick County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Luimnigh) was the authority responsible for local government in County Limerick, Ireland. As a county council, it was governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council had 28 elected members. ...

for over 20 years, and served as chairman of the council in 2000. He contested the 1997 general election as an

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

candidate having failed to get a Fianna Fáil nomination to run for the party. He later rejoined Fianna Fáil and was

nominated by the Taoiseach A candidate, or nominee, is the prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position; for example: * to be elected to an office — in this case a candidate selection procedure occurs. * t ...

in 2002, but left the party again on 29 April 2004 to join the

Progressive Democrats The Progressive Democrats ( ga, An Páirtí Daonlathach, literally "The Democratic Party" ), commonly referred to as the PDs, was a conservative-liberal political party in the Republic of Ireland. Launched on 21 December 1985 by Desmond O'Mal ...

(PD), after a dispute arising from the end of the

dual mandate A dual mandate is the practice in which elected officials serve in more than one elected or other public position simultaneously. This practice is sometimes known as double jobbing in Britain and ''cumul des mandats'' in France; not to be confused ...

. Under the

Local Government Act 2001 The Local Government Act 2001 (No. 37) was enacted by the Oireachtas on 21 July 2001 to reform local government in the Republic of Ireland. Most of the provisions of the Act came into operation on 1 January 2002. The act was a restatement and a ...

, members of the

Oireachtas The Oireachtas (, ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of: *The President of Ireland *The bicameralism, two houses of the Oireachtas ...

could no longer serve as local councillors, and Brennan's wife Rose sought a Fianna Fáil nomination to stand for election as his successor in the

Bruff Bruff () is a town in east County Limerick, in the midwest of Ireland, located on the old Limerick–Cork road ( R512). The town lies on the Morning Star river, with two bridges in the town itself. The horseshoe lake of Lough Gur is nearby ...

Electoral Area. She did not win a nomination, and speculation that she would be imposed as a candidate by the national party did not happen. Rose Brennan also defected to the Progressive Democrats, and was elected as a PD County Councillor for Bruff. She subsequently became Vice

Cathaoirleach Cathaoirleach (; Irish for chairperson; plural: ) is the title of the chair (or presiding officer) of Seanad Éireann, the sixty-member upper house of the Oireachtas, the legislature of Ireland. The current Cathaoirleach, who has held the off ...

of Limerick County Council, and in the 2009 local elections she was elected as a

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 � ...

member of the council for the Adare area. At the 2007 general election Brennan stood as a candidate for the Progressive Democrats in the Limerick West constituency. He polled 1,935 first preferences, 4.79% of the vote on a quota of 10,108 and did not win a seat. Brennan was not returned to the Seanad in the 2007 election.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brennan, Michael 1946 births Living people Progressive Democrats senators Fianna Fáil senators Independent candidates in Dáil elections Members of the 22nd Seanad Local councillors in County Limerick Nominated members of Seanad Éireann Progressive Democrats candidates in Dáil elections Fianna Fáil local councillors