Ben Briscoe

Ben Briscoe
Ben Briscoe
Teachta Dála
	In office; June 1981 – May 2002
Constituency	Dublin South-Central
	In office; June 1977 – June 1981
Constituency	Dublin Rathmines West
	In office; June 1969 – June 1977
Constituency	Dublin South-Central
	In office; April 1965 – June 1969
Constituency	Dublin South-West
Lord Mayor of Dublin
	In office; 5 June 1988 – 6 June 1989
Preceded by	Carmencita Hederman
Succeeded by	Seán Haughey
Personal details
Born	11 March 1934; Dublin, Ireland
Died	10 July 2023 (aged 89); Blanchardstown, Dublin, Ireland
Political party	Fianna Fáil
Spouse	Carol Briscoe (m. 1965)
Children	4
Parent	Robert Briscoe (father);

Ben Briscoe (11 March 1934 – 10 July 2023) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) from 1965 to 2002.^[1]

Political career

Dáil Éireann

Briscoe was elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fianna Fáil TD for the Dublin South-West constituency at the 1965 general election, succeeding his father Robert Briscoe who had been a TD for 38 years. He was elected at the 1969 general election for Dublin South-Central, where he was reelected in 1973 and after major boundary changes for the 1977 general election he was elected for the Dublin Rathmines West constituency. A subsequent boundary revision in advance of the 1981 general election abolished Dublin Rathmines West and divided the area between the neighbouring constituencies. Briscoe was reelected for the reestablished Dublin South-Central constituency which he held until he retired at the 2002 general election.^[2]

Briscoe was very critical of the cult of personality surrounding Fianna Fáil leader Charles Haughey during the 1980s, which Briscoe once compared to a "Fascist Dictatorship". Briscoe accordingly helped lead the discontented anti-Haughey faction within Fianna Fáil, which included Charlie McCreevy, during Haughey's time as Taoiseach.^[3]

At the 1992 general election, Briscoe was involved in a marathon recount battle with Democratic Left's Eric Byrne to decide the fate of the final seat in Dublin South-Central. Briscoe was declared the victor after ten days of recounting and rechecking ballot papers, leading to Briscoe describing the long count as being like "the agony and the ex-TD."^[4]

Lord Mayor of Dublin

From 1988 to 1989, he served as Lord Mayor of Dublin,^[5] a post previously held by his father, Robert. His term covered the second half of Dublin's Millennium Year 1988. After the city council had made him Lord Mayor, Briscoe described his selection for the honour as "one of the proudest moments of my life".^[6]

The Molly Malone statue previously at the bottom end of Grafton Street and now outside the Dublin Tourist around the corner was unveiled by Briscoe during the Dublin Millennium celebrations in 1988 and he declared 13 June as Molly Malone Day in Dublin.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life

Briscoe was one of Ireland's most famous Jewish politicians.^[7] The small Irish Jewish community have been enthusiastic and active participants in the country's political and legal world. Briscoe's father was one of several Jews involved in the War of Independence and Sinn Féin movements. In Briscoe's time each of the three main political parties had a Jewish member in Ireland's 166-member Dáil.

Death

Briscoe died on 10 July 2023, at the age of 89.^[8]

References

^ "Ben Briscoe". Oireachtas Members Database. Archived from the original on 7 November 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2008.
^ "Ben Briscoe". ElectionsIreland.org. Archived from the original on 24 September 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2008.
^ "From the archives: How Charlie Won the War (1983)". Politico.ie. Archived from the original on 15 November 2012. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
^ Corry, Eoghan: I'm Glad You Asked Me That, Irish Political Quotations (Hodder 2007). Original reference can be found in The Irish Times, 7 December 1992
^ "Lord Mayors of Dublin 1665–2020" (PDF). Dublin City Council. June 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
^ "Ben Briscoe Follows Father to Become Dublin's 2nd Jewish Mayor". apnewsarchive.com. July 1988. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
^ "The Briscoes and service to Ireland" (PDF). Shamrock Club of Wisconsin. February 2009. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 November 2010. Retrieved 12 July 2009.
^ Moloney, Eoghan (10 July 2023). "Former Dublin Lord Mayor Ben Briscoe remembered as 'hard working, committed public representative'". Irish Independent. Dublin. ISSN 0021-1222. Archived from the original on 11 July 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2023.

Civic offices
Preceded by Carmencita Hederman	Lord Mayor of Dublin 1988–1989	Succeeded by Seán Haughey

[1] "Ben Briscoe". Oireachtas Members Database. Archived from the original on 7 November 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2008.

[elecs_irl-2] "Ben Briscoe". ElectionsIreland.org. Archived from the original on 24 September 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2008.

[3] "From the archives: How Charlie Won the War (1983)". Politico.ie. Archived from the original on 15 November 2012. Retrieved 9 October 2012.

[4] Corry, Eoghan: I'm Glad You Asked Me That, Irish Political Quotations (Hodder 2007). Original reference can be found in The Irish Times, 7 December 1992

[5] "Lord Mayors of Dublin 1665–2020" (PDF). Dublin City Council. June 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2023.

[6] "Ben Briscoe Follows Father to Become Dublin's 2nd Jewish Mayor". apnewsarchive.com. July 1988. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2013.

[7] "The Briscoes and service to Ireland" (PDF). Shamrock Club of Wisconsin. February 2009. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 November 2010. Retrieved 12 July 2009.

[8] Moloney, Eoghan (10 July 2023). "Former Dublin Lord Mayor Ben Briscoe remembered as 'hard working, committed public representative'". Irish Independent. Dublin. ISSN 0021-1222. Archived from the original on 11 July 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2023.

[9] O'Connell served as Ceann Comhairle in the 22nd and 23rd Dáil from 1981 to 1983 and was returned automatically at the February 1982 and November 1982 general elections. He joined Fianna Fáil in January 1985.

[10] Founded Right to Change in May 2020.

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