Donal Creed is a retired Irish

Irish people

The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...

 farmer and Fine Gael

Fine Gael

Fine Gael is a centre-right to centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland. It is the single largest party in Ireland in the Oireachtas, in local government, and in terms of Members of the European Parliament. The party has a membership of over 35,000...

 party politician from Macroom

Macroom

Macroom is a market town in Ireland located in a valley on the River Sullane, a tributary of the River Lee, between Cork and Killarney. It is one of the key gateways to the tourist region of West Cork. The town recorded a population on 3,553 in the 2006 national census...

 in County Cork

County Cork

County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...

 who served as a Teachta Dála

Teachta Dála

A Teachta Dála , usually abbreviated as TD in English, is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas . It is the equivalent of terms such as "Member of Parliament" or "deputy" used in other states. The official translation of the term is "Deputy to the Dáil", though a more literal...

 (TD) for 22 years and as a junior government minister in the 1980s.

He first stood as a candidate for Dáil Éireann

Dáil Éireann

Dáil Éireann is the lower house, but principal chamber, of the Oireachtas , which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann . It is directly elected at least once in every five years under the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote...

 at a by-election in March 1965 for the Cork Mid

Cork Mid (Dáil Éireann constituency)

Cork Mid was a parliamentary constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas from 1961 to 1981. The constituency was served by 4 deputies from 1961 to 1977, and then 5 from 1977 until its abolition in 1981...

 constituency following the death of the Labour Party

Labour Party (Ireland)

The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in the Republic of Ireland. The Labour Party was founded in 1912 in Clonmel, County Tipperary, by James Connolly, James Larkin and William X. O'Brien as the political wing of the Irish Trade Union Congress. Unlike the other main Irish...

 TD Dan Desmond

Dan Desmond

"Dan" Desmond was an Irish Labour Party politician and Teachta Dála for seventeen years.Desmond first stood for election to Dáil Éireann at the 1944 general election, in the Cork South East constituency, where he was defeated, winning barely 5% of the first-preference votes...

. The by-election was won by Desmond's widow Eileen

Eileen Desmond

Eileen Desmond, née Harrington was a senior Irish Labour Party politician. She served in the Dáil and the Seanad and the European Parliament, and was Minister for Health & Social Welfare from 1981 to 1982....

, but at the general election in April that year

Irish general election, 1965

The Irish general election of 1965 was held on 7 April 1965. The newly elected members of the 18th Dáil assembled at Leinster House on 21 April when the new Taoiseach and government were appointed....

 Creed won the 4th seat in the four-seat constituency.

Creed was re-elected at seven further general elections, switching in 1981

Irish general election, 1981

The Irish general election of 1981 was held on 11 June 1981, three weeks after the dissolution of the Dáil on 21 May. The newly elected 166 members of the 22nd Dáil assembled at Leinster House on 30 June when a new Taoiseach and government were appointed....

 to the new Cork North West

Cork North West (Dáil Éireann constituency)

Cork North–West is a parliamentary constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas. The constituency elects 3 deputies...

 constituency when Cork Mid was abolished in boundary changes. From 1973 to 1977 he served as one of Ireland's first Members of the European Parliament

Member of the European Parliament

A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...

 (MEP), before MEPs were directly elected. Creed served on three of the European Parliament

European Parliament

The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...

's committees: Agriculture

Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development

The Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development is a committee of the European Parliament.-Responsibilities of the Committee:AGRI is the European Parliament committee responsible for:...

, Public Health & the Environment, Regional Policy & Transport. He was also Chairman of Cork County Council

Cork County Council

Cork County Council is the local authority which is responsible for County Cork in Ireland. The Council is responsible for Housing and Community, Roads and Transportation, Urban planning and Development, Amenity and Culture, and Environment. The head of the council has the title of Cathaoirleach...

 from 1978 to 1979.

In Garret FitzGerald

Garret FitzGerald

Garret FitzGerald was an Irish politician who was twice Taoiseach of Ireland, serving in office from July 1981 to February 1982 and again from December 1982 to March 1987. FitzGerald was elected to Seanad Éireann in 1965 and was subsequently elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fine Gael TD in 1969. He...

's first coalition government, he was Minister of State

Minister of State (Ireland)

A Minister of State in Ireland is of non-Cabinet rank, attached to one or more Departments of State of the Government of Ireland....

 at the Department of Health from June to November 1981, and then at the Department of the Environment from November 1981 until the government was defeated in a budget vote in January 1982. Fianna Fáil

Fianna Fáil

Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party , more commonly known as Fianna Fáil is a centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland, founded on 23 March 1926. Fianna Fáil's name is traditionally translated into English as Soldiers of Destiny, although a more accurate rendition would be Warriors of Fál...

 was returned to power at the resulting February 1982 general election, but that government too was short-lived. When FitzGerald formed a new coalition government after another general election in November 1982, Creed was appointed as Minister of State at the Department of Education

Department of Education and Science (Ireland)

The Department of Education and Skills is a department of the Government of Ireland. It is led by the Minister for Education and Skills who is assisted by two Ministers of State.-Departmental team:...

, and held that post until he was dropped in a reshuffle in February 1986.

Creed stepped down from the Dáil at the 1989 general election

Irish general election, 1989

The Irish general election of 1989 was held on Thursday, 15 June 1989, three weeks after the dissolution of the Dáil on 25 May. The newly elected 166 members of the 26th Dáil assembled at Leinster House on 29 June...

, when his son Michael

Michael Creed

Michael Creed is an Irish Fine Gael politician and has been a Teachta Dála for the Cork North West constituency since 2007....

held the seat for Fine Gael.