Denis Cregan (born 4 May 1940) is an Irish businessman and former

Fine Gael Fine Gael ( ; ; ) is a centre-right, liberal-conservative, Christian democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil Éireann. The party had a member ...

politician from Cork, who served for 17 years 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 ...

Politics

A former branch vice-president of the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union, Cregan was a long-standing member of Cork City Council from 1979 to 2009, and was

Lord Mayor of Cork The Lord Mayor of Cork () is the honorific title of the Chairperson () of Cork City Council which is the local government body for the city of Cork in Ireland. The office holder is elected annually by the members of the Council. The incumbent ...

from 1991 to 1992. He had unsuccessfully contested the

Cork South-Central "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

constituency at the

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

and February 1982 general elections. He stood in the 1982 Seanad elections, winning a seat on the

Labour Panel The Labour Panel is one of five vocational panels which together elect 43 of the 60 members of Seanad Éireann, the senate of the Oireachtas (the legislature of Ireland). The Labour Panel elects eleven senators. Election Article 18 of the Const ...

, which he held until his defeat in the 1989 elections to the 19th Seanad Éireann. He was unsuccessful again when he stood again in Cork South-Central at the 1992 general election, but in the subsequent elections to the

20th Seanad The 20th Seanad was in office from 1993 to 1997. An election to Seanad Éireann, the senate of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament), followed the 1992 general election to the 27th Dáil. The senators served until the close of poll for the 21st S ...

he was re-elected on the Labour Panel. He was re-elected in 1997 to the 21st Seanad, but was narrowly defeated in the 2002 elections to the 22nd Seanad. At the 2004 local elections, he held his seat on Cork City Council, though with a margin of less than 40 votes over the

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( ; ; ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The History of Sinn Féin, original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffit ...

candidate. In January 2009 he announced his retirement from politics and did not contest the 2009 local elections.

Personal life

From Bandon road, Cork, he was one of eight children and left school at 13. He and five of his brothers worked alongside their father at

CIÉ , or CIÉ, is a statutory corporation of Ireland, answerable to the Irish Government and responsible for most public transport within the Republic of Ireland and jointly with its Northern Ireland counterpart, the Northern Ireland Transport Hold ...

's road haulage department. He did a variety of other jobs, including lorry helper, bus conductor and truck driver. He opened his first

Fish and chip shop A fish and chip shop, sometimes referred to as a chip shop or chippy, is a restaurant that specialises in selling fish and chips. Usually, fish and chip shops provide takeaway service, although some have seating facilities. Fish and chip shop ...

in 1970 at his family home. In 2024, the chain called Dino's, has nine outlets in Cork city and county. He married Mary Barry in 1962. They have seven children; six of whom are involved in the family business.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cregan, Denis 1940 births Living people Fine Gael senators Members of Cork City Council Lord mayors of Cork Members of the 16th Seanad Members of the 17th Seanad Members of the 18th Seanad Members of the 20th Seanad Members of the 21st Seanad Fine Gael local councillors Labour Panel senators Fine Gael candidates in Dáil elections