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Denis Cregan

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Denis Cregan
Senator
In office
17 February 1993 – 12 September 2002
In office
13 May 1982 – 1 November 1989
ConstituencyLabour Panel
Personal details
Born (1940-05-04) 4 May 1940 (age 84)
Cork, Ireland
Political partyFine Gael
Spouse
Mary Barry
(m. 1962)
Children7

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]

Politics

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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]

Personal life

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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]

References

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  1. ^ "Denis Cregan". Oireachtas Members Database. Archived from the original on 31 October 2019. Retrieved 12 January 2008.
  2. ^ "Provosts, Mayors and Lord Mayors of Cork". Cork City Council. Archived from the original on 2 February 2020. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Denis Cregan". ElectionsIreland.org. Archived from the original on 18 September 2007. Retrieved 8 January 2008.
  4. ^ a b "Dino calls time after 30 years of service". Irish Examiner. 18 April 2009. Archived from the original on 11 May 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d "Dino: From small fry to a Mr Chips empire". EchoLive.ie. 9 November 2020. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  6. ^ "Behind the counter with Dino Cregan: 'You're only as good as your last bag of chips'". Irish Examiner. 2 June 2024. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  7. ^ "How I Met My Partner". EchoLive.ie. 18 September 2023. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
Civic offices
Preceded by
Frank Nash
Lord Mayor of Cork
1991–1992
Succeeded by