Wilson was first elected to Dáil Éireann at the 1973 general election for the Cavan constituency, for Cavan-Monaghan in 1977 and at each subsequent election until his retirement after the dissolution of the 26th Dail in 1992 [REF].
In 1990 Wilson challenged Brian Lenihan for the Fianna Fáil nomination for the 1990 presidential election.