Donal Creed
Donal John Creed was an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as Chairman of the Fine Gael Parliamentary Party from 1987 to 1989, Minister of State for School Buildings and Sport from 1982 to 1986, Minister of State for Housing from 1981 to 1982 and Minister of State for Health between June to November 1981.
Creed was a Teachta Dála from 1965 to 1989, and a Member of the European Parliament for the Oireachtas from 1973 to 1977. He stepped down from the Dáil at the 1989 general election, when his son Michael Creed held the seat for Fine Gael.Career
He first stood for Dáil Éireann at a by-election in March 1965 for the Cork Mid constituency, following the death of the Labour Party TD Dan Desmond. The by-election was won by Desmond's widow Eileen, but at the 1965 general election in April that year Creed won the fourth seat in the four-seat constituency.
Creed was re-elected at seven further general elections, switching in 1981 to the new Cork North-West 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, before MEPs were directly elected. Creed served on three of the European Parliament's committees: Agriculture, Public Health and the Environment, Regional Policy and Transport. He was also Chairman of Cork County Council from 1978 to 1979.
In Garret FitzGerald's first coalition government, Creed was appointed Minister of State 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 was returned to power at the resulting February 1982 general election, but that government also was short-lived. When FitzGerald formed a new coalition government after another general election in November 1982, Creed was appointed Minister of State at the Department of Education, and held that post until a reshuffle in February 1986.
