Michael Enright (1952 – 16 October 1997) was a Democratic Left politician from

County Wexford County Wexford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was ba ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. He was a member of Wexford Corporation and served briefly 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 ...

in 1997. Born in

Ennis Ennis ( , meaning 'island' or 'river meadow') 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 Cou ...

County Clare County Clare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern part of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council ...

, Enright was a teacher at

Kilmuckridge Kilmuckridge (), formerly Ford or The Ford, is a village in County Wexford in Ireland, near the Irish Sea coast. As of the 2016 census, the village had a population of 722 people, having more than tripled in size (from 235) in the 20 years since ...

Vocational School in

. An officer of Wexford Council of Trade Unions, he joined the Labour Party in 1973, and in the 1979 local elections he stood as a candidate for the Socialist Labour Party. He joined the

Workers' Party Workers' Party is a name used by several political parties throughout the world. The name has been used by both organisations on the left and right of the political spectrum. It is currently used by followers of Marxism, Marxism–Leninism, Maoism ...

in 1982 and was elected to Wexford Corporation in 1985; he remained a councillor until his death 12 years later. At the

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

and 1989 general elections, he stood unsuccessfully as a Workers' Party candidate in the Wexford constituency, and also failed to win a seat in the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

when he stood in the Leinster constituency at the 1989 European election. When the Workers' Party split in 1992, he joined the breakaway Democratic Left, later becoming a member of the party's executive committee. He contested the

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

and 1997 general elections as a Democratic Left candidate, but again failed to win a seat. He became a member of Teastas, the Irish National Certification Authority, when it was set up in 1995. In June 1997 Enright was

nominated by the Taoiseach A candidate, or nominee, is a prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position. For example, one can be a candidate for membership in a group or election to an office, in which case a ...

John Bruton John Gerard Bruton (18 May 1947 – 6 February 2024) was an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 1994 to 1997 and Leader of Fine Gael from 1990 to 2001. He held cabinet positions between 1981‍ and 1987, including twice ...

, as a member of the outgoing

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 ...

, serving until the elections in August for the

21st Seanad The 21st Seanad was in office from 1997 to 2002. An election to Seanad Éireann, the senate of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament), followed the 1997 general election to the 28th Dáil. The senators served until the close of poll for the 22nd S ...

. He died aged 45 on 16 October 1997. He was returning from a Teastas meeting in Dublin when his car was involved in a head-on collision near

Arklow Arklow ( ; ; ) is a town in County Wicklow on the southeast coast of Ireland. The town is overlooked by Ballymoyle Hill. It was founded by the Vikings in the ninth century. Arklow was the site of one of the Battle of Arklow, bloodiest battles ...

with a vehicle traveling at high speed without lights. Tributes were paid to him in both the Dáil and the Seanad.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Enright, Michael 1952 births 1997 deaths Workers' Party (Ireland) politicians Democratic Left (Ireland) senators Members of the 20th Seanad People from Ennis Members of Wexford County Council Politicians from County Clare Nominated members of Seanad Éireann Democratic Left (Ireland) candidates in Dáil elections Workers' Party (Ireland) candidates in Dáil elections Road incident deaths in the Republic of Ireland