Pat Upton (1 September 1944 – 22 February 1999) was an

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 ...

Labour Party politician and vet.

Early life

He was born in

Kilrush Kilrush () is a coastal town in County Clare, Ireland. It is also the name of a civil parish and an ecclesiastical parish in Roman Catholic Diocese of Killaloe. It is located near the mouth of the River Shannon in the south-west of the county. ...

County Clare County Clare ( ga, Contae an Chláir) is a county in Ireland, in the Southern Region and the province of Munster, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council is the local authority. The county had a population of 118,817 ...

and educated at St Flannan's College in

Ennis Ennis () is the county town of County Clare, in the mid-west of Ireland. The town lies on the River Fergus, north of where the river widens and enters the Shannon Estuary. Ennis is the largest town in County Clare, with a population of 25,27 ...

, at

University College Galway The University of Galway ( ga, Ollscoil na Gaillimhe) is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. A tertiary education and research institution, the university was awarded the full five QS stars for excellence in 201 ...

, and at

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

(UCD) where he received a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

veterinary medicine Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in animals. Along with this, it deals with animal rearing, husbandry, breeding, research on nutri ...

. He then worked as a lecturer.

Political career

Upton was first elected to public office as a Labour Party member of

Dublin County Council Dublin County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Bhaile Átha Cliath) was a local authority for the administrative county of County Dublin in Ireland. History The county council was established by the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898. Its headquart ...

for

Terenure Terenure (), originally called ''Roundtown'', is an affluent, middle class suburb of Dublin in Ireland. It is located in the city's D6W postcode area. Location and transport Terenure lies primarily in the administrative area of Dublin City ...

at the 1991 local elections, where he served until the Council's abolition in 1994, and then as a member of

South Dublin County Council South Dublin County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Átha Cliath Theas) is the authority responsible for local government in the county of South Dublin, Ireland. It is one of three local authorities created by the Local Government (Dublin) Act ...

until 1999. He had unsuccessfully contested the Dublin South-Central constituency at the 1989 general election. However, he was then elected to the 19th Seanad on the

Agricultural Panel The Agricultural Panel () 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 Agricultural Panel elects eleven senators. Election Art ...

, and became the Labour Party's leader in

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 ...

. At the 1992 general election, he stood again in Dublin South-Central, and in Labour's "Spring Tide" surge at that election, Upton topped the poll with nearly 12,000 first-preference votes, a remarkable 1.48 quotas. He was re-elected at the 1997 general election with a considerably reduced vote. In the

28th Dáil 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...

he was appointed as Labour's spokesperson on Justice, Equality and Law Reform. A leading critic of Labour's 1999 merger with the Democratic Left, he nonetheless became the party's spokesman on communications and sport after the merger. He was 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 1994–1995.

Death

He died suddenly of a heart attack on 22 February 1999 at the UCD veterinary school, where he was still an occasional lecturer, and was survived by his wife and their four children. Politicians of all parties paid glowing tributes to him an outspoken but "erudite and incisive" contributions to politics and to Irish culture. The by-election for his Dáil seat in Dublin South-Central was held on 27 October 1999, and won for the Labour Party by his sister

Mary Upton Mary Upton (born 30 May 1946) is a former Irish Labour Party politician. She served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin South-Central constituency from 1999 to 2011. Upton was born in Kilrush, County Clare and was educated at Coláiste Mhu ...

Honours

Following his death, the

branch of the Labour party was named in his honour due to his involvement with the college. It has since been renamed to honour the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

veteran Charlie Donnelly.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Upton, Pat 1944 births 1999 deaths Academics of University College Dublin Alumni of the University of Galway Alumni of University College Dublin Members of Dublin County Council Irish veterinarians Labour Party (Ireland) senators Labour Party (Ireland) TDs Members of South Dublin County Council Members of the 19th Seanad Members of the 27th Dáil Members of the 28th Dáil People educated at St Flannan's College People from Kilrush Politicians from County Clare Scholars and academics from County Clare Labour Party (Ireland) local councillors Agricultural Panel senators