Patrick Reynolds (Cumann na nGaedheal politician)

Patrick Reynolds (1 March 1887 – 14 February 1932) was an Irish Cumann na nGaedheal politician.[1][2]

A merchant and farmer, he was elected to Dáil Éireann as a Cumann na nGaedheal Teachta Dála (TD) at the September 1927 general election for the Leitrim–Sligo constituency.[3]

He was nominated as a candidate for the 1932 general election, but during the campaign he was shot and killed on 14 February 1932 by a former Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) officer, Joseph Leddy.[4][5] Garda Detective Patrick McGeehan who was trying to shield Reynolds was fatally wounded. The election in Leitrim–Sligo was then postponed, and when it was held his widow Mary Reynolds won a seat, serving in the Dáil for 25 years.[6]

Leddy had helped the IRA during the Irish War of Independence and had received a pension on Reynolds' recommendation; the two were friends and drinking companions, but had recently fallen out over the small size of Leddy's pension, and Leddy had begun to support a rival politician. Leddy was tried in Dublin and received a one-year sentence for manslaughter, the jury citing provocation. Mary Reynolds received IR£1,000 in a civil lawsuit.[7]

His son Patrick J. Reynolds, who took over and expanded the family business, was a long-serving member of Leitrim County Council, and also a Fine Gael TD and senator, serving as Cathaoirleach of the Seanad from 1983 to 1987. Pat Joe's son Gerry Reynolds was also a TD and senator.[2]