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