Denis Cregan | |
|---|---|
| Senator | |
| In office 17 February 1993 –12 September 2002 | |
| In office 13 May 1982 –1 November 1989 | |
| Constituency | Labour Panel |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 4 May 1940 Cork,Ireland |
| Party | Fine Gael |
| Spouse | Mary Barry (m. 1962) |
| Children | 7 |
Denis Cregan (born 4 May 1940) is an Irish businessman and former Fine Gael politician from Cork, who served for 17 years as a senator. [1]
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 from 1991 to 1992. [2] He had unsuccessfully contested the Cork South-Central constituency at the 1981 and February 1982 general elections. He stood in the 1982 Seanad elections, winning a seat on the Labour Panel, which he held until his defeat in the 1989 elections to the 19th Seanad Éireann. [3]
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 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. [3]
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 candidate.
In January 2009 he announced his retirement from politics and did not contest the 2009 local elections. [4]
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's road haulage department. [5] [6] He did a variety of other jobs, including lorry helper, bus conductor and truck driver. [5]
He opened his first Fish and chip shop in 1970 at his family home. [5] In 2024, the chain called Dino's, has nine outlets in Cork city and county. [4]
He married Mary Barry in 1962. [7] They have seven children; six of whom are involved in the family business. [5]