- Pat Upton
Dr. Pat Upton (1 September 1944 – 22 February 1999) was an Irish
veterinarian and a senior Labour Party politician.He was born in
Kilrush ,County Clare and educated at St Flannan's College inEnnis , atUniversity College Galway , and atUniversity College Dublin where he received adoctorate inveterinary medicine . He then worked as a lectuer.Political career
Upton was first elected to public office as a Labour member of
Dublin County Council forTerenure in the 1991 local elections, where he served until the Council's abolition in 1994.He had unsuccessfully contested the constituency of
Dublin South Central at the [Irish general election, 1989|1989 general election] . However, he was then elected to the11th Seanad on theAgricultural Panel , and became the Labour Party's leader inSeanad Éireann .At the 1992 general election, he stood again in Dublin South Central, and in Labour's "Spring Tide" surge at that election, Upton topped the poll with nearly 12,000 first-preference votes, a remarkable 1.48 quotas. He was re-elected at the 1997 general election with a considerably reduced vote.
In the
28th Dáil he was appointed as Labour's spokesperson on spokesperson on Justice, Equality and Law Reform. A leading critic of Labour's 1999 merger with the Democratic Left, he nonetheless became the party's spokesman on communications and sport after the merger.He was a member of the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in 1994–95Death
He died suddenly of a heart attack on 22 February 1999 at the UCD veterinary school, where he was still an occasional lecturer, and was survived by his wife and their four children.
Teachtaí Dála (TDs) of all parties paid glowing tributes to him an outspoken but "erudite and incisive" [http://www.rte.ie/news/1999/0222/upton.html] contributions to politics and to Irish culture.The by-election for his Dáil seat in
Dublin South Central was held on 27 October 1999, and won for the Labour Party by his sisterMary Upton . She retained the seat in the 2002 general election.Trivia
Following his death, the
University College Dublin branch of the Labour party was named in his honour due to his involvement with the college. It has since been renamed to honour theSpanish Civil War veteran Charlie Donnelly.References
*Oireachtas-database |1=http://oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=1&HouseNum=19&MemberID=1087&ConstID=205
External links
* [http://www.electionsireland.org/candidate.cfm?ID=3796 Pat Upton's electoral history] (ElectionsIreland.org)
* [http://electionsireland.org/news/1999/patupton.cfm Dr Pat Upton TD dies of heart attack] (ElectionsIreland.org, 22 February 1999)
* [http://www.rte.ie/news/1999/0222/upton.html Labour TD Pat Upton dies of heart attack] (RTÉ News, 22 February 1999)
* [http://www.irlgov.ie/debates-99/23feb99/sect1.htm Expressions of sympathy in Dáil Éireann on the death of Pat Upton] (Oireachtas debates)
* [http://www.unison.ie/irish_independent/stories.php3?ca=9&si=572126&issue_id=5795 Politicians pay tribute to `courageous' Upton] (Irish Independent, 23rd February 1999)
* [http://www.unison.ie/irish_independent/stories.php3?ca=9&si=572385&issue_id=5797 Colleagues and constituents mourn Labour's Pat Upton] (Irish Independent, 25th February 1999)
* [http://www.labour.ie/youth/oncampus/index/20030909085645.html UCD Upton/O'Riordan Branch of the Labour Party]
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