Denis O'Donovan (born 23 July 1955) is an Irish

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil ( ; ; meaning "Soldiers of Destiny" or "Warriors of Fál"), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party (), is a centre to centre-right political party in Ireland. Founded as a republican party in 1926 by Éamon de ...

politician who served as a

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

for the Agricultural Panel from April 2011 to January 2025. He previously served as

Cathaoirleach Cathaoirleach (; Irish language, Irish for Chair (officer), chairperson; plural: ) is the title of the chair (or speaker (politics), presiding officer) of Seanad Éireann, the sixty-member upper house of the Oireachtas, the legislature of Repub ...

Seanad Éireann Seanad Éireann ( ; ; "Senate of Ireland") is the senate of the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann (defined as the house of representatives). It is commonly called the Seanad or ...

from 2016 to 2020 and Leas-Chathaoirleach of

from 2011 to 2016. He served as a

Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( ; ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish language, Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The official Engli ...

(TD) for the Cork South-West constituency from 2002 to 2007. A native of

Bantry Bantry () is a town in the civil parish of Kilmocomoge in the barony of Bantry on the southwest coast of County Cork, Ireland. It lies in West Cork at the head of Bantry Bay, a deep-water gulf extending for to the west. The Beara Peninsula i ...

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

, he was elected to Cork County Council in 1985, and re-elected in 1991 and 1999. He was nominated by the Taoiseach to the Seanad in 1989. He was an unsuccessful candidate at the 1993 Seanad election but was elected to the Seanad in 1997 as a Senator for the

Industrial and Commercial Panel Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominat ...

. O'Donovan was elected to

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( ; , ) is the lower house and principal chamber of the Oireachtas, which also includes the president of Ireland and a senate called Seanad Éireann.Article 15.1.2° of the Constitution of Ireland reads: "The Oireachtas shall co ...

, on his fifth attempt, at the 2002 general election for the Cork South-West constituency. He lost his Dáil seat at the 2007 general election, however, he was subsequently elected to the Seanad. O'Donovan was the Chair of the all-party

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 and the two houses of the Oireachtas (): a house ...

Committee on the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

, established in December 2002 to review the Constitution. He has a degree in law from

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) () is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork (city), Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of three Queen's Universit ...

and is a qualified solicitor. In June 2010, he lost the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party whip when he failed to support the government on the Dog Breeding Establishment bill. He was a Fianna Fáil candidate at the 2011 general election for Cork South-West but was not elected. He was re-elected to the Seanad in April 2011. He was Leas-Chathaoirleach (Deputy Chairperson) of the 24th Seanad. He was re-elected again to

on the Agricultural Panel in April 2016 and again in April 2020. He served as

from 8 June 2016 until 29 June 2020. He is the Fianna Fáil Seanad spokesperson on Marine and Fisheries. He did not contest the 2025 Seanad election.

References

External links

Denis O'Donovan's page on the Fianna Fáil website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Odonovan, Denis 1955 births Alumni of University College Cork Cathaoirligh of Seanad Éireann Fianna Fáil TDs Irish solicitors Living people Members of Cork County Council Members of the 19th Seanad Members of the 21st Seanad Members of the 23rd Seanad Members of the 24th Seanad Members of the 25th Seanad Members of the 26th Seanad Members of the 29th Dáil People from Bantry Politicians from County Cork Nominated members of Seanad Éireann Fianna Fáil senators Industrial and Commercial Panel senators Agricultural Panel senators