Dan Desmond

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(Daniel) "Dan" Desmond (3rd October 1913 – 9th December 1964) was an Irish Labour Party politician and for TD 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. However, his second candidacy was successful: at the 1948 general election he was the first candidate to be elected in the new 3-seat Cork South East constituency.

He took his seat in the 13th Dáil, and was re-elected at the 1951 general election and again in the 1954 and 1957 elections, topping the poll again in 1951 and 1954. After further boundary changes, he was returned at the 1961 election for the new 4-seat Cork Mid constituency.

He died on 9th December 1964, at the age of 53. The by-election for his seat in the 17th Dáil was won on 10th March 1965 by his widow Eileen Desmond, who sat in the Oireachtas for 22 years.

His daughter, Paula Desmond, was elected in the 1999 and 2004 local elections as a Cork County Councilor for Carrigaline.