Patrick Brennan (18 February 1922 – 10 June 1998) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who sat for 25 years as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Wicklow constituency, and was briefly a senator.[1]
Early life
Patrick Brennan was born on 18 February 1922 in Carnew, County Wicklow, the fourth among nine children of Thomas Brennan, a builder and politician, and Sarah Brennan (née Quinn). During the Irish War of Independence his father had been Commandant, 4th Battalion of the North Wexford Brigade of the Irish Republican Army, and later served as Fianna Fáil TD for Wicklow from 1944 to 1953.[2] He was educated locally at Carnew national school and Carnew vocational school, and joined his father's building firm.
He ran next as a Fianna Fáil candidate in Wicklow at the 1953 by-election caused by the death of his father Thomas Brennan. The by-election was won by Fine Gael's Mark Deering. Brennan was elected at the following 1954 general election, and was re-elected at the next four general elections.[4] He topped the poll on each occasion, and by virtue of one of the largest votes at the 1957 general election, he managed to secure two seats for Fianna Fáil in the constituency, where he was joined by his running mate James O'Toole.
Brennan abstained in a vote of confidence in Jim Gibbons on 10 November 1971 and was expelled from the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party on 17 November 1971.[9][10] While closely aligned with Kevin Boland, Brennan joined Boland's new party, Aontacht Éireann.[2] He contested the 1973 general election as an independent candidate, but he lost his seat to Fianna Fáil's Ciarán Murphy.[2]
