Royston Mathew Brady (born 24 August 1972) is an Irish businessman and former politician, who was Lord Mayor of Dublin between 2003 and 2004. Once considered a protégé of Bertie Ahern,[1] Brady fell foul of the Fianna Fáil party in the mid-2000s and drifted out of Irish politics.[1] He left Ireland during the post-2008 Irish economic downturn and emigrated to Florida in the United States.[2]
Royston Brady | |
|---|---|
| Lord Mayor of Dublin | |
| In office 2003–2004 | |
| Preceded by | Dermot Lacey |
| Succeeded by | Michael Conaghan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 24 August 1972 Dublin, Ireland |
| Citizenship |
|
| Relatives | Cyprian Brady (brother) |
Background and early life edit
Brady was born in Holles Street Hospital and brought up in Artane, he was one of the nine children of Richard Brady from Dublin's inner city and Doreen Lynch from Clanbrassil Street; his father was a taxi driver, showband singer and furniture dealer.[3]
He attended the Billie Barry stage school[4] and appeared as an extra in the film Excalibur in 1981. He was also an under-age footballer with St Vincent's GAA Club.
He attended St. Joseph's Secondary C.B.S. in Fairview and later studied at Athlone RTC, Louvain in Belgium and Boston College USA.[3]
Brady became a member of Ógra Fianna Fáil at age 11.[1]
Business life edit
Having trained as a hotelier in the US and Ireland, Brady became general manager of the Royal Marine Hotel in Dún Laoghaire in June 1997. From 2000 to 2003 he worked as a consultant for training agency CERT. In 2005 he set up Alpha Recruitment, a recruitment and consultancy company specialising in the hotel and tourism sectors, which was sold for an undisclosed sum to Stepone Recruitment in 2008.[5]
Brady left his job as general manager at Roganstown Hotel Country Club in Swords, County Dublin after highlighting alleged "illegal" bar licensing practices.[6] Brady project managed the opening of Parnell's GAA Club, in Coolock.[citation needed]
Brady served on a number of boards including Dublin Port, Dublin Tourism and the Dublin Enterprise Board.[7]
Political career edit
Brady was elected at the 1999 Dublin City Council election as a Fianna Fáil candidate.[3][8] Aged 26, he was the youngest member of the council at the time.[8] In 2000 he served as deputy Lord Mayor of Dublin and in 2003 was elected Lord Mayor of Dublin.[9]
On taking office, he declared that he would be a people's mayor, insisting that Dubliners deserved better than a token figurehead.[7] He said he was making the issue of street crime in Dublin one of his top priorities and while in office he was publicly critical of the efforts of Michael McDowell, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, against crime and at one point referred to him as a bully giving the two fingers to Dublin.[10][11]
Brady worked to tackle homelessness in Dublin receiving an international honour for his efforts.[12] He also hosted a homeless couple's wedding in the Mansion House to raise awareness of the plight of Dublin's homeless.[13]
A Dublin football supporter, during his time Brady conferred the freedom of the city on footballer Kevin Heffernan.[14]
Brady was a candidate at the 2004 European Parliament election in the Dublin constituency. During the campaign, he was falsely accused of lying about an incident involving his father's taxi being involved in the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings.[15] Brady was accused by the media of using the incident to obtain the sympathy of the voters.[16] Brady's version of events was later proven correct by the Irish news media following archival research.[1]
Honours edit
While Lord Mayor, Brady was awarded a knighthood by the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George in recognition of Dublin City Council's work "in assisting homeless people". The award was bestowed by Cardinal Mario Pompedda at a ceremony in Áras an Uachtaráin in May 2004.[17][18]
Family and personal life edit
Brady married Michelle McConalogue from Carndonagh, County Donegal in December 2003.[19] In 2012 Brady and his family emigrated to the United States with their children.[1] Brady and his family became US Citizens in December 2021.[2] Since moving to the United States, Brady has become a supporter of Republican Ron DeSantis.[2]
His father won an All Ireland minor medal with Dublin in 1954,[citation needed] and his brother, Cyprian was a TD for Dublin Central from 2007 to 2011.[1]
References edit
- ^ a b c d e f Egan, Barry (27 January 2008). "'It was a real test for our marriage'". Irish Independent. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
- ^ a b c Cox, James (8 September 2022). "Former Dublin mayor Royston Brady on becoming a US citizen and voting Republican".
- ^ a b c "Royston Brady: Mayor who swears by his passion for politics". Sunday Times.
- ^ McGoran, Fiona (9 November 2003). "Lord mayor takes credit where he can; Fame and Fortune". Sunday Times (Ireland edition). p. 14. Gale A110244693 – via Gale Academic OneFile.
- ^ "STEP by STEP Recruiting". Step One. 25 April 2008. Archived from the original on 10 July 2010.
- ^ Gartland, Fiona (14 June 2012). "Former lord mayor in unfair dismissal case against hotel". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 31 January 2016.
- ^ a b "The Rise and Rise of Royston". Irish Independent. 20 January 2004. Archived from the original on 24 October 2012.
- ^ a b Egan, Barry (27 January 2008). "It was a real test for our marriage". Sunday Independent. Archived from the original on 15 March 2016.
- ^ "Lord Mayors of Dublin 1665–2020" (PDF). Dublin City Council. June 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
- ^ "Why the future's not rosy for citizen Royston". Sunday Independent. 26 June 2004. Archived from the original on 24 October 2012.
- ^ Donaghy, Kathy (7 August 2003). "Mayor hits out at failure to tackle street crime". Sunday Independent. Archived from the original on 1 December 2022.
- ^ "It's a thin line between church and state". Tribune. Archived from the original on 8 July 2010. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
- ^ "Homeless lovers wed in style". BreakingNews.ie. 5 November 2003. Archived from the original on 1 December 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
- ^ Proby, Johnny (2 March 2004). "Freedom of the city for Heffernan". RTÉ Sport. Archived from the original on 25 October 2012. Retrieved 1 December 2022 – via Wayback Machine.
- ^ Mullen, Ronan (23 June 2004). "You saw it as it happened — an honest man mugged by the media". Irish Examiner.
- ^ "Royston Brady in Dublin bombing controversy". Breaking News. 9 June 2004. Archived from the original on 3 November 2004. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
- ^ Quinn, David (21 May 2005). "Taoiseach and President receive knighthoods for peace efforts". Irish Independent. Archived from the original on 13 August 2018.
- ^ McCarthy, Justine (12 August 2018). "Can a papal visit heal the church's reputation?". Sunday Times.
- ^ "Royston to start his own Brady bunch". Sunday Independent. 19 February 2006. Archived from the original on 24 October 2012.