Thomas Morrissey (born July 1956) is a former

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

politician and 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 ...

and businessman. He 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 ...

Bertie Ahern Bartholomew Patrick "Bertie" Ahern (born 12 September 1951) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1997 to 2008, Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1994 to 2008, Leader of the Opposition from 1994 to 1997, Tánaiste a ...

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 ...

in 2002 as a member of the now defunct

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 ...

. He was subsequently appointed to the Progressive Democrats Front Bench as Transportation spokesperson in September 2002. During his time as a Senator, Morrissey served on the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport. He also served as Chairman of the Progressive Democrats Parliamentary Party. Morrissey was first elected as a Fine Gael representative for the Castleknock ward in the 1991 local election with 1,172 votes (15.8%). He was an unsuccessful Dáil candidate for Fine Gael in

Dublin West Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 cens ...

in the 1992 general election and 1996 by-election receiving 1,179 (3.2%) and 3,728 (13.1%) votes respectively. He then joined the Progressive Democrats and was unsuccessful in the 1997 and 2002 general elections in Dublin West. He received 7.6% in 1997 and 7.9% in 2002. His second successful local election was in 1999 when he was elected as a Progressive Democrat member for

Fingal County Council Fingal County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Fhine Gall) is the authority responsible for local government in the county of Fingal, Ireland. It is one of three local authorities that comprised the former Dublin County Council before its abolit ...

, again in the

Castleknock Castleknock () is an affluent suburb located west of the centre of Dublin city, Ireland. It is centered on the village of the same name in Fingal. In addition to the suburb, the name "Castleknock" also refers to older units of land division: ...

ward receiving 1,218 votes (14.1%). In 2006 he decided to run as a candidate in the 2007 general election for the

Dublin North Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 cens ...

constituency. He failed to be returned having received only 1,355 votes (2.6%). His support for the privatisation of

Aer Lingus Aer Lingus ( ; an anglicisation of the Irish , meaning "air fleet" compare Welsh 'llynges awyr') is the flag carrier of Ireland. Founded by the Irish Government, it was privatised between 2006 and 2015 and it is now a wholly owned subsidiary ...

may have been a factor on that occasion. In the same year, he also failed in his candidacy for

References

1956 births Living people Progressive Democrats senators Members of the 22nd Seanad Local councillors in Fingal Councillors of Dublin County Council Politicians from Fingal Nominated members of Seanad Éireann {{Ireland-senator-stub