Séamus Pattison (19 April 1936 – 4 February 2018) was an Irish Labour Party politician who served as

Leas-Cheann Comhairle The (; "Head of heCouncil"; plural usually ) is the chairperson (or speaker) of , the lower house of the (parliament) of Ireland. The person who holds the position is elected by members of the from among their number in the first session a ...

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 ...

from 2002 to 2007,

Ceann Comhairle The (; "Head of heCouncil"; plural usually ) is the chairperson (or speaker) of , the lower house of the (parliament) of Ireland. The person who holds the position is elected by members of the from among their number in the first session a ...

from 1997 to 2002, Minister of State for Social Welfare from 1983 to 1987 and

Father of the Dáil In Ireland, the term Father of the Dáil () is an unofficial title applied to the current member of Dáil Éireann with the longest unbroken period of service in the Dail, regardless of their position. The 'Father' has no official role in the busi ...

from 1995 to 2007. He served as a

Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( , ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas (the Irish Parliament). It is the equivalent of terms such as ''Member of Parli ...

(TD) for the Carlow–Kilkenny constituency from 1961 to 2007. He was a

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

(MEP) for the

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ir ...

constituency from 1981 to 1983.

Early life and education

Séamus Pattison was born in

Kilkenny Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512. Kilken ...

in 1936. His father was Labour Party TD James Pattison, who represented Carlow–Kilkenny from 1933 to 1957. After his education at

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of ...

, Pattison became a full-time trade union official, serving with 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 ...

(ITGWU).

Career

Pattison unsuccessfully contested the Carlow–Kilkenny by-election for Labour in June 1960, but was elected at the 1961 general election to the

17th Dáil 17 (seventeen) is the natural number following 16 and preceding 18. It is a prime number. Seventeen is the sum of the first four prime numbers. In mathematics 17 is the seventh prime number, which makes seventeen the fourth super-prime, as s ...

, and held the seat at eleven further general elections. He served as

Mayor of Kilkenny The Mayor of Kilkenny ( ga, Cathaoirleach) is an honorific title used by the head of Kilkenny Borough Council. The Council has jurisdiction throughout its administrative area which is the city of Kilkenny in the Republic of Ireland. The office w ...

on three occasions; 1967, 1976 and 1992. He became an MEP for

in 1981, to replace

Liam Kavanagh Liam is a short form of the Irish name Uilliam or the old Germanic name William. Etymology The original name was a merging of two Old German elements: ''willa'' ("will" or "resolution"); and ''helma'' ("helmet"). The juxtaposition of these elem ...

who became Minister for Labour following the 1981 general election. Pattison resigned as an MEP in 1983, following his appointment as Minister of State at the Department of Social Welfare, in which position he served until Labour left the government in January 1987. He was unanimously elected

on 26 June 1997, serving for the 28th Dáil. When the

29th Dáil 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Arabic digit In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...

assembled after the 2002 general election he was succeeded by

Rory O'Hanlon Rory O'Hanlon (born 7 February 1934) is a former Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Ceann Comhairle of Dáil Éireann from 2002 to 2007, Leas-Cheann Comhairle of Dáil Éireann from 1997 to 2002, Minister for the Environment from 1 ...

, but was appointed as

(deputy chairperson) for the 29th Dáil. Pattison was also a member of the

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is the parliamentary arm of the Council of Europe, a 46-nation international organisation dedicated to upholding human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The Assembly is made up o ...

. In September 2005, he announced he would retire at the following general election, and his nephew Eoin Pattison unsuccessfully sought the nomination. Labour county councillor Michael O'Brien was selected in February 2006 to contest the seat, but was unsuccessful in the 2007 general election.

Later life and death

When Pattison retired from politics at the 2007 election he had served in Dáil Éireann for 45 years and 7 months, making him the fifth-longest serving TD ever, and the longest-ever-serving Labour Party TD. He was the longest-serving sitting TD from 1995 to 2007, and had the informal title of

. Pattison died from

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

at his home in Kilkenny on 4 February 2018, aged 81.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pattison, Seamus 1936 births 2018 deaths Labour Party (Ireland) MEPs Labour Party (Ireland) TDs Local councillors in County Kilkenny

People from Kilkenny (city) Members of the 17th Dáil Members of the 18th Dáil Members of the 19th Dáil Members of the 20th Dáil Members of the 21st Dáil Members of the 22nd Dáil Members of the 23rd Dáil Members of the 24th Dáil Members of the 25th Dáil Members of the 26th Dáil Members of the 27th Dáil Members of the 28th Dáil Members of the 29th Dáil MEPs for the Republic of Ireland 1979–1984 Ministers of State of the 24th Dáil Presiding officers of Dáil Éireann

Early life and education

Career

Later life and death

See also

References

External links