Patrick J. Reynolds (politician)

For other people named Patrick Reynolds, see Patrick Reynolds (disambiguation).

Senator Patrick Reynolds
Cathaoirleach of Seanad Éireann
In office 23 February 1983 – 25 April 1987
Preceded by	Tras Honan
Succeeded by	Tras Honan
Personal details
Born	25 November 1920 Killellan, County Leitrim
Died	27 December 2003(2003-12-27) (aged 83)

Patrick Joe Reynolds (25 November 1920 – 27 December 2003) was an Irish Fine Gael politician who served thee terms in Dáil Éireann and five in Seanad Éireann, where he was Cathaoirleach (speaker) for four years.

Reynolds was born in Killellan, County Leitrim in 1920. He was educated locally, receiving only a primary school education before working as a general merchant, farmer and auctioneer. He was first elected to the 17th Dáil at the 1961 general election. He was re-elected at the 1965 election, but lost his seat in the 1969 general election. He was then elected to the 12th Seanad by the Administrative Panel. The 1960s proved to be a fallow period for Fine Gael as the party was out of power for the entire decade.

At the 1973 general election a Fine Gael–Labour Party coalition government came to power and Reynolds was re-elected to the 20th Dáil. In 1976, he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Education and the Public Service. In spite of this appointment, Reynolds lost his Dáil seat in the 1977 general election. Following this defeat, he secured election to the 14th Seanad on the Industrial and Commercial Panel, which re-elected him to the 15th Seanad in 1981, the 16th Seanad in 1982 and 17th Seanad in 1983.

In the 17th Seanad, he succeeded Tras Honan as Cathaoirleach.

References

• This page incorporates information from this member's entry in the Oireachtas Members Database