Voluble, direct and tireless are words frequently used to describe Brendan Ryan, who returns to the Seanad after four years in the political wilderness.
Some would add "relentless" to the lexicon used to describe the Cork RTC chemical engineering lecturer, trade union activist and campaigner for the homeless and underprivileged.
During his 12 years in the Upper House, until his defeat by Prof Joe Lee in 1993, Senator Ryan effectively became the social conscience of the Oireachtas.
He may have his detractors, but there is no shortage of admirers for the 51-year-old Senator, and among the first to applaud him was the Simon Community, on whose executive he served.
The charity's national director, Mr Dick Shannon, praised him highly. Senator Ryan had made homelessness a serious political issue when he introduced the Homeless Persons Bill in 1983, he said.
"His actions provided the catalyst for the 1988 Housing Act, which was a major landmark in the campaign to eradicate homelessness." Senator Ryan had also introduced "perhaps more re forming legislation than perhaps any other independent senator".
That reforming zeal has not gone away after four years out of the political mainstream. Rather than giving tax cuts, he said the Government should be addressing the problems of the handicapped, the crisis in homelessness, the numbers of children on the streets and "institutionalised unemployment". He also wants international debates - on world trade, on development and on prosperity.
He still remembers his Seanad defeat in 1993, when he lost by 28 votes to Prof Lee. That was "hurtful" and he is all the more "ecstatic" at yesterday's result. Originally from Athy, Co Kildare, he now lives in Cork with his wife, Clare O'Connell, and family.
