Patrick Brennan (18 February 1922 – 10 June 1998) was an Irish

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 Christia ...

politician who sat for 25 years 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

Wicklow Wicklow ( ; ga, Cill Mhantáin , meaning 'church of the toothless one'; non, Víkingaló) is the county town of County Wicklow in Ireland. It is located south of Dublin on the east coast of the island. According to the 2016 census, it has a ...

constituency, and was briefly a Senator. Brennan first stood for election to Dáil Éireann as a

Clann na Poblachta Clann na Poblachta (; "Family/Children of the Republic") was an Irish republican political party founded in 1946 by Seán MacBride, a former Chief of Staff of the Irish Republican Army. Foundation Clann na Poblachta was officially launched o ...

candidate in

Kildare Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 8,634 making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. The town lies on the R445, some west of Dublin – near enough for it to have become, despite being a regional ce ...

in the 1948 Irish general election. He fared poorly, coming second last with only 3.0% of the vote, compared to 10.7% secured by his Clann na Poblachta running mate Daniel Boland. He ran against next as a Fianna Fáil candidate in

in the 1953 by-election caused by the death of his father Thomas Brennan, a Fianna Fáil TD for Wicklow from 1944 to 1954. While unsuccessful, he was returned at the following 1954 general election, where he was elected to the

15th Dáil 15 (fifteen) is the natural number following 14 (number), 14 and preceding 16 (number), 16. Mathematics 15 is: * A composite number, and the sixth semiprime; its proper divisors being , and . * A deficient number, a smooth number, a lucky ...

, and was returned at the next four general elections. He topped the poll on each occasion, and by virtue of one of the largest votes at the 1957 general election, he managed to secure two seats for Fianna Fáil in the constituency, where he was joined by his running mate James O'Toole. On 21 April 1965 he was appointed as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Local Government by the government of

Seán Lemass Seán Francis Lemass (born John Francis Lemass; 15 July 1899 – 11 May 1971) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach and Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1959 to 1966. He also served as Tánaiste from 1957 to 1959, 1951 to 1954 ...

. He was appointed to the same position on 16 November 1966 and on 9 July 1969 by the governments of Jack Lynch. He resigned on 8 May 1970, just two days after the resignation of the Minister for Local Government,

Kevin Boland Kevin Boland (15 October 1917 – 23 September 2001) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Leader of Aontacht Éireann from 1971 to 1976, Minister for Social Welfare from 1961 to 1966 and 1969 to 1970, Minister for Local Governm ...

, and the sacking of

Neil Blaney Neil Terence Columba Blaney (1 October 1922 – 8 November 1995) was an Irish politician. He was first elected to Dáil Éireann in 1948 as a Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála (TD) representing Donegal East. A high-profile member of the party, Blane ...

and

Charles Haughey Charles James Haughey (; 16 September 1925 – 13 June 2006) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach on three occasions – 1979 to 1981, March to December 1982 and 1987 to 1992. He was also Minister for the Gaeltacht from ...

as ministers at the outbreak of the Arms Crisis. Brennan abstained in a vote of confidence in Jim Gibbons on 10 November 1971 and was expelled from the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party on 17 November 1971. While closely aligned with Kevin Boland, Brennan did not join Boland's new party,

Aontacht Éireann Aontacht Éireann (; en, "Irish Unity") was an Ireland, Irish political party founded by Kevin Boland, a former Fianna Fáil government minister and advocate of Irish republicanism. The party mainly operated within the Republic of Ireland. Bol ...

. He contested the 1973 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, but he lost his seat to Fianna Fáil's Ciarán Murphy. He subsequently rejoined Fianna Fáil, and at the 1981 general election he was elected again as TD for Wicklow. He lost his seat at the February 1982 election, and was a Taoiseach's nominee to the Seanad but was re-elected to the Dáil at the November 1982 general election, ousting Ciarán Murphy. Brennan retired from politics at the 1987 general election.

References

1922 births 1998 deaths Clann na Poblachta politicians Fianna Fáil TDs Fianna Fáil senators Members of the 15th Dáil Members of the 16th Dáil Members of the 16th Seanad Members of the 17th Dáil Members of the 18th Dáil Members of the 19th Dáil Members of the 22nd Dáil Members of the 24th Dáil Nominated members of Seanad Éireann Parliamentary Secretaries of the 18th Dáil Parliamentary Secretaries of the 19th Dáil {{Ireland-senator-stub

See also

References