Eoin David Ryan (12 June 1920 – 14 December 2001) 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, and a Senator for thirty years. Ryan was born in

Dublin 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 c ...

. When Ryan was born, his father and mother were actively engaged in the

War of Independence This is a list of wars of independence (also called liberation wars). These wars may or may not have been successful in achieving a goal of independence. List See also * Lists of active separatist movements * List of civil wars * List o ...

. His mother was

Máirín Cregan Máirín Cregan (27 March 1891 – 9 November 1975) was an Irish nationalist who was involved in the 1916 Easter Rising and Irish War of Independence. She later made her name writing for children, as well as writing plays and novels for adults. ...

arrested when he was a baby in February 1921 and held in prison for a short time at the same time as his father. She later made her name as a writer. His father, James Ryan, was a founder member of

and a member of successive governments. Eoin Ryan was educated at Presentation College, Bray, and later at Mount St. Joseph's College,

Roscrea Roscrea () is a market town in County Tipperary, Ireland, which in 2016 had a population of 5,446. Roscrea is one of the oldest towns in Ireland, having developed around the 7th century monastery of Saint Crónán of Roscrea, parts of which rem ...

. He joined the Defence Forces during the emergency years of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and rose to the rank of captain between 1940 and 1943. He later returned to his studies 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 member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 33,284 student ...

, achieving a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

in economics and a diploma in public administration. He went on to study at King's Inns and was called to the bar in 1945. Throughout this time, Ryan had an intense interest in politics although, unlike his father, who was a Minister for most of his 30 years in the Dáil, the young Ryan was reluctant to enter full-time politics. He preferred putting his views forward on the governing bodies of the party, where he served for many years on the national executive and as vice president of Fianna Fáil. Ryan was first elected to

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 ...

in 1957, winning a seat on the

Labour Panel The Labour Panel ( ga, An Rolla Oibreachais) 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 Labour Panel elects eleven senators. ...

, although he switched to the

Industrial and Commercial Panel The Industrial and Commercial Panel ( ga, An Rolla Tionscail Agus Tráchtála) 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 In ...

in 1961. For four of his years in the upper house, 1965 to 1969, his father was also a Senator serving after his retirement from the Dáil. He was Leader of the Seanad from 1977 to 1981 and leader of the Fianna Fáil group from 1973 to 1977. His son, also called Eoin Ryan, was also a member of

, Dáil Éireann, and 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 ...

for

. Eoin Ryan Snr died on 14 December 2001.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Eoin 1920 births 2001 deaths Fianna Fáil senators Members of the 9th Seanad Members of the 10th Seanad Members of the 11th Seanad Members of the 12th Seanad Members of the 13th Seanad Members of the 14th Seanad Members of the 15th Seanad Members of the 16th Seanad Members of the 17th Seanad Politicians from County Dublin Alumni of King's Inns