Seán Ryan is a former Irish

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

 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...

 politician. He was 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 Dublin North from 1989–1997 and 1998–2007.

Ryan was born in Dublin and educated at North Strand

North Strand

North Strand is an area of the inner city on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. The area is bounded roughly by East Wall to the east, Ballybough to the northwest, and Fairview to the north...

 Vocational School, the College of Technology, Bolton Street

Dublin Institute of Technology

Dublin Institute of Technology was established officially in 1992 under the but had been previously set up in 1978 on an ad-hoc basis. The institution can trace its origins back to 1887 with the establishment of various technical institutions in Dublin, Ireland...

, the College of Industrial Relations

National College of Ireland

National College of Ireland offers full and part-time courses from foundation to degree and postgraduate level. All courses are fully accredited and delivered from the IFSC campus and across a network of regional centres....

, and the School of Management, Rathmines College of Commerce. Ryan was formerly Production Controller and Work Study Supervisor with CIÉ

CIE

-Organizations:* Cambridge International Examinations, an international examination board* Cleveland Institute of Electronics, a private technical and engineering educational institution — the International Commission on Illumination...

 and Iarnród Éireann

Iarnród Éireann

Iarnród Éireann is the national railway system operator of Ireland. Established on 2 February 1987, it is a subsidiary of Córas Iompair Éireann . It operates all internal intercity, commuter and freight railway services in the Republic of Ireland, and, jointly with Northern Ireland Railways, the...

 before entering into full-time politics.

In 1983 he was elected to Dublin County Council

Dublin County Council

Dublin County Council was a local authority for the administrative county of County Dublin in the Republic of Ireland. It was established by the Local Government Act 1898....

. Ryan was first elected to 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 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...

, serving until the 1997 general election

Irish general election, 1997

The Irish general election of 1997 was held on Friday, 6 June 1997. The 166 newly elected members of the 28th Dáil assembled on 26 June 1997 when a new Taoiseach and government were appointed....

 when he lost his seat. He was subsequently elected to Seanad Éireann

Seanad Éireann

Seanad Éireann is the upper house of the Oireachtas , which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann . It is commonly called the Seanad or Senate and its members Senators or Seanadóirí . Unlike Dáil Éireann, it is not directly elected but consists of a mixture of members chosen by...

, but was re-elected to the 28th Dáil at the Dublin North by-election on 11 March 1998, following the resignation of 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...

 TD Ray Burke. The by-election for his Seanad seat was won by Fianna Fáil's John Cregan

John Cregan (Irish politician)

John Cregan is a former Irish Fianna Fáil politician. He served as a Teachta Dála and Senator from 1998 to 2011. He is a native of Dromcolliher, County Limerick....

.

Ryan was re-elected to the Dáil at the 2002 election

Irish general election, 2002

The Irish general election of 2002 was held on Friday, 17 May 2002 just over three weeks after the dissolution of the 28th Dáil on Thursday 25 April by President Mary McAleese, at the request of the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern...

 and was the Labour Party Spokesperson on Older People's Issues from 2002–2007.

He indicated in 2005 that he did not intend to stand at the following general election. At a selection convention, his brother Brendan Ryan

Brendan Ryan (Dublin politician)

Brendan Ryan is an Irish Labour Party politician. He was elected as a Teachta Dála for the Dublin North constituency at the 2011 general election. He was a member of Seanad Éireann from 2007 to 2011 on the Administrative Panel...

 (not to be confused with the Labour Party former Senator Brendan Ryan) was selected to stand as the Labour Party candidate in Dublin North for the next election, but was not elected. Brendan was subsequently elected to the 23rd Seanad Éireann in July 2007.