Pat Upton

Pat Upton (1 September 1944 – 22 February 1999) was an Irish Labour Party politician and veterinarian.

Early life

He was born in Kilrush, County Clare and educated at St Flannan's College in Ennis, at University College Galway, and at University College Dublin (UCD) where he received a doctorate in veterinary medicine. He then worked as a lecturer.

Political career

Upton was first elected to public office as a Labour Party member of Dublin County Council for Terenure at the 1991 local elections, where he served until the Council's abolition in 1994, and then as a member of South Dublin County Council until 1999.

He had unsuccessfully contested the Dublin South–Central constituency at the 1989 general election. However, he was then elected to the 11th Seanad on the Agricultural Panel, and became the Labour Party's leader in Seanad 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.