Office: | Member of the European Parliament |
Term Start: | June 2004 |
Term End: | June 2009 |
Office2: | Minister of State |
Suboffice2: | Tourism, Sport and Recreation |
Subterm2: | 2000–2002 |
Office3: | Teachta Dála |
Constituency3: | Dublin South-East |
Term Start3: | November 1992 |
Term End3: | May 2007 |
Office4: | Senator |
Constituency4: | Nominated by the Taoiseach |
Term Start4: | 1 November 1989 |
Term End4: | 25 November 1992 |
Birth Date: | 24 February 1953 |
Birth Place: | Dublin, Ireland |
Constituency: | Dublin |
Party: | Fianna Fáil |
Nationality: | Irish |
Father: | Eoin Ryan Snr |
Relatives: | James Ryan (grandfather) |
Eoin Ryan (born 24 February 1953) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician. He was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Dublin from 2004 to 2009, and also was a Teachta Dála (TD) for Dublin South-East from 1992 to 2007.[1]
Ryan was born in Dublin in 1953 and educated at St. Mary's College, Rathmines; College of Commerce, Rathmines; and Kildalton Horticulture College, County Kilkenny.
Ryan comes from an Irish political family. His father, Eoin Ryan Snr, was a senator in Seanad Éireann for a number of years. Ryan's grandfather was James Ryan, a founding-member of Fianna Fáil and a long-serving cabinet minister. His great-aunts, language teacher Josephine Ryan and chemist Phyllis Ryan served in the GPO during the 1916 Easter Rising, and married respectively general and Fine Gael politician Richard Mulcahy and president of Ireland and Fianna Fail politician Seán T. O'Kelly (who was the widower of his great-aunt Mary Kate Ryan); and his great-aunt Agnes McCullough, also an activist and member of Cumann na mBan, married Denis McCullough, Cumann na nGaedheal TD and musical entrepreneur.
In 1985 he was elected to Dublin City Council. In 1989 he was nominated to Seanad Éireann by then Taoiseach Charles Haughey. Ryan was elected to Dáil Éireann for the first time at the 1992 general election. He was re-elected at the 1997 general election, topping the poll in the Dublin South-East constituency.[2]
In February 2000 Ryan was appointed Minister of State at the Department of Tourism, Sport and Recreation.[3] He was not re-appointed in 2002. In 2004 he was elected to the European Parliament for the Dublin constituency, sitting in the Union for Europe of the Nations group.
Ryan retired from national politics at the 2007 general election, opting to concentrate on European politics. He lost his seat at the 2009 European Parliament election.[4]