Patrick Burke (born 15 January 1955) is an Irish

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 who served 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 ...

for the

Agricultural Panel The Agricultural 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 Agricultural Panel elects eleven senators. Election Article 18 ...

from 1993 to 2025. He previously served as

Cathaoirleach Cathaoirleach (; Irish language, Irish for Chair (officer), chairperson; plural: ) is the title of the chair (or speaker (politics), presiding officer) of Seanad Éireann, the sixty-member upper house of the Oireachtas, the legislature of Repub ...

Seanad Éireann Seanad Éireann ( ; ; "Senate of Ireland") is the senate of the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann (defined as the house of representatives). It is commonly called the Seanad or ...

from 2011 to 2016 and

Leas-Chathaoirleach Cathaoirleach (; Irish for chairperson; plural: ) is the title of the chair (or presiding officer) of Seanad Éireann, the sixty-member upper house of the Oireachtas, the legislature of Ireland. The current Cathaoirleach is Fianna Fáil Senat ...

from 2002 to 2011. Burke was a member of

Mayo County Council Mayo County Council () is the local government in the Republic of Ireland, local authority of County Mayo, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housin ...

from 1979 until the abolition of the

dual mandate A dual mandate occurs when an official serves in or holds multiple public positions simultaneously. This practice is sometimes known as double jobbing in Britain, double-dipping in the United States, and ''cumul des mandats'' in France. Thus, if ...

in 2003. He was first elected to the

Oireachtas The Oireachtas ( ; ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of the president of Ireland and the two houses of the Oireachtas (): a house ...

in the 1993 election 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 ...

as a Senator for the

, which also returned him to 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 ...

in 1997 and to the 22nd Seanad in 2002. In September 2002, Burke was elected as

(deputy chairperson) of the Seanad, and after his re-election in 2007 to the

23rd Seanad The 23rd Seanad was in office from 2007 to 2011. An election to Seanad Éireann, the senate of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament) took place in July 2007, following the 2007 general election to the 30th Dáil on 24 May. There are 60 seats in th ...

he was re-elected as Leas Cathaoirleach. He was elected as the

of the

24th Seanad The 24th Seanad was in office from 2011 to 2016. An election to Seanad Éireann, the senate of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament), followed the 2011 general election to the 31st Dáil on 25 February. There are 60 seats in the Seanad: 43 were el ...

on 25 May 2011. Following his involvement in the Oireachtas Golf Society scandal ("Golfgate") in August 2020, Burke was one of six senators who lost the

party whip A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline (that members of the party vote according to the party platform rather than their constituents, individual conscience or donors) in a legislature. Whips a ...

in the Senate as punishment for their actions. The party unanimously voted to restore the whip to Burke in January 2021. Burke did not contest the

2025 Seanad election An indirect election to the 27th Seanad took place in January 2025, following the 2024 general election to the 34th Dáil in November 2024. Seanad Éireann is the upper house of the Oireachtas, with Dáil Éireann as its lower house. Polls clo ...

References

External links

Paddy Burke's page on the Fine Gael website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burke, Paddy 1955 births Living people Cathaoirligh of Seanad Éireann Fine Gael senators Members of Mayo County Council Members of the 20th Seanad Members of the 21st Seanad Members of the 22nd Seanad Members of the 23rd Seanad Members of the 24th Seanad Members of the 25th Seanad Members of the 26th Seanad Agricultural Panel senators