Albert Martin Reynolds (3 November 1932 – 21 August 2014) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach and Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1992 to 1994. Between 1979 and 1991, he held several cabinet positions, including Minister for Finance from 1988 to 1991. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for Longford–Roscommon from 1977 to 1992, and for Longford–Westmeath from 1992 to 2002.

During his first term as taoiseach, Reynolds led a coalition government of Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats. In his second term, he headed a coalition of Fianna Fáil and the Labour Party.

Albert Martin Reynolds was born on 3 November 1932 in Kilglas, near Roosky, on the County Roscommon–Leitrim border. His father was a carpenter and coachbuilder. Because of his rural background, his political opponents often referred to him as a “country bumpkin”.

During the 1950s, he attended Summerhill College in Sligo and worked as a clerk for CIÉ, the state transport service. Despite the late‑night nature of his business, Reynolds abstained from alcohol. Reynolds married Kathleen Coen (1932–2021) in 1962, and they had seven children.

Reynolds became involved in the showband scene, owning several dance halls, including Cloudland Ballroom in Roosky (opened in 1957); Roseland Ballroom in Moate (opened in 1959); Dreamland Ballroom in Athy (opened in 1961); Fairyland Ballroom in Roscommon (opened in 1961); Danceland Ballroom in Portlaoise (opened in 1962); Lakeland Ballroom in Mullingar (opened in 1963); Jetland Ballroom in Limerick (opened in 1963); Rockland Ballroom in Borris-in-Ossory; Borderlands Ballroom in Clones; Tippland Ballroom in Cashel; and Barrowland Ballroom in New Ross (opened in 1967).

He became wealthy during the 1960s as dance halls grew extremely popular. He invested in various enterprises, including a pet‑food company, a bacon factory, a fish‑exporting operation, and a hire purchase company. Reynolds also had business interests in local newspapers and a cinema. He established business contacts at both national and international levels.

Reynolds became interested in politics during the Arms Crisis, a controversial episode in which two government ministers, Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries Neil Blaney and Minister for Finance Charles Haughey, were removed from the government over an attempt to send arms to Northern Ireland in 1970; Blaney and Haughey were later acquitted in court.

In the wake of this case, Reynolds launched a political career from his background as a successful businessman in western Ireland. He stood for Fianna Fáil in the 1977 general election for the Longford–Westmeath constituency. The election proved to be a landslide victory for Fianna Fáil, with the party winning a 20‑seat parliamentary majority, resulting in Jack Lynch returning as Taoiseach. Reynolds remained a backbencher until 1979. That year, pressure mounted on Lynch, the incumbent Taoiseach and Fianna Fáil leader, to step down. Reynolds became a member of the so‑called “gang of five” politicians with strong rural backgrounds—Jackie Fahey (Tipperary), Mark Killilea Jnr (Galway), Tom McEllistrim (Kerry), and Seán Doherty (Roscommon)—which aligned itself with Charles Haughey and supported him in the subsequent leadership contest.