Patrick Kennedy (Limerick politician)
Patrick Kennedy was a barrister and Fine Gael politician from Limerick city in Ireland. He was a senator for most of the period from 1981 to 1993.
A long-serving member of Limerick City Council, Kennedy stood unsuccessfully as a Fine Gael candidate for Dáil Éireann in the Limerick East constituency at the 1969, 1973 and 1977 general elections. He was Mayor of Limerick from 1974 to 1975 and from 1985 to 1986. He did not contest the 1981 general election, but in the subsequent election to the 15th Seanad he won a seat on the Administrative Panel. He contested one further Dáil election, in February 1982, where he again failed to win a seat, and was also unsuccessful at the 1982 Seanad election. He was returned the following year to the 17th Seanad, and held that seat until his defeat at the 1993 Seanad election. He stood again for the Seanad in 1997, but was not re-elected.
He left Fine Gael in about the year 2000, and at the 2004 and 2009 local elections he was re-elected to the city council as an independent candidate. He also contested the 2002 general election as an independent. He re-joined Fine Gael in September 2009.
In 2015, Kennedy published biographies of Chief Justice Hugh Kennedy and Liam Cosgrave. He also announced plans for several projects, including a book on World War I casualties among Irish barristers.
Kennedy died at University Hospital Limerick on 21 January 2020 following a short illness. He was 78.
