Ben Gilroy is an Irish political activist and conspiracy theorist. A founder and former leader of
Direct Democracy Ireland
Direct Democracy Ireland (, ) is a minor political party in Ireland. It has no representation at local or national level.
Established in 2010, Direct Democracy Ireland (DDI) was registered as a political party in October 2012. The organisation ...
, Gilroy was once a campaigner against evictions and has been described as a "serial litigant" for his multiple legal actions taken against Irish banks. During one of these court hearings, Gilroy threatened and abused the court in a written
affidavit and was charged with
contempt of court
Contempt of court, often referred to simply as "contempt", is the crime of being disobedient to or disrespectful toward a court of law and its officers in the form of behavior that opposes or defies the authority, justice, and dignity of the cour ...
as a result.
He was sentenced to 80 hours of
community service but failed to attend.
As a consequence of his failure to attend the community service, he was subsequently sentenced to 3 months' imprisonment.
Gilroy has republished a number of conspiracy theories relating to the
COVID-19 pandemic in Ireland.
Gilroy unsuccessfully stood for the European Parliament on a number of occasions, including in the
Midlands–North-West constituency in 2014 and in the
Dublin constituency for the
2019 European Parliament election
The 2019 European Parliament election was held between 23 and 26 May 2019, the ninth parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979. A total of 751 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) represent more than 512 million peopl ...
. He also unsuccessfully campaigned for a seat in the Dáil in the
Meath East constituency in a
2013 by-election
Thirteen or 13 may refer to:
* 13 (number), the natural number following 12 and preceding 14
* One of the years 13 BC, AD 13, 1913, 2013
Music
* 13AD (band), an Indian classic and hard rock band
Albums
* ''13'' (Black Sabbath album), 2013
* ...
and
2016 general election, and as a candidate with the right-wing
Irish Freedom Party
The Irish Freedom Party or the Irexit Freedom To Prosper Party, sometimes referred to as IFP, or IFTPP is a minor right-wing to far-right hard Eurosceptic political party in Ireland, launched on 8 September 2018. It advocates Irish withdrawal ...
in the
Dublin Bay North constituency at the
2020 general election
The following elections were scheduled to occur in 2020. The International Foundation for Electoral Systems maintains a comprehensive list of upcoming elections on its E-Guide Platform. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calend ...
.
Politics
A founding member of
Direct Democracy Ireland
Direct Democracy Ireland (, ) is a minor political party in Ireland. It has no representation at local or national level.
Established in 2010, Direct Democracy Ireland (DDI) was registered as a political party in October 2012. The organisation ...
(DDI), the party was initially led by Raymond Whitehead and contested the
2011 general election with candidates being fielded as
independents. The party was formed in response to the
post-2008 Irish banking crisis. Gilroy contested the
2013 Meath East by-election which was caused by the suicide of Fine Gael TD
Shane McEntee. Gilroy received 1,568 first-preference votes, 6.5% of those cast.
In the wake of the by-election result, ''
Village'' magazine compared Gilroy to the Italian
Five Star Movement
The Five Star Movement ( it, Movimento 5 Stelle , M5S) is a political party in Italy. Its leader and president is Giuseppe Conte, Prime Minister of Italy from 2018 until 2021. The M5S was founded on 4 October 2009 by Beppe Grillo, a comedian an ...
leader
Beppe Grillo
Giuseppe Piero "Beppe" Grillo (; born 21 July 1948) is an Italian comedian, actor, blogger, and politician.
He has been involved in politics since 2009 as the co-founder (together with Gianroberto Casaleggio) of the Italian Five Star Movement ...
.
He was involved with attempts to create an Irish version of the
yellow vests movement.
He read out a list of yellow vest demands at their first protest in Dublin and was described by some as the movement's leader, however they described themselves as a "leaderless movement".
His politics were described by ''
The Irish Times'' as "populist" He has spoken out against abortion, Ireland's membership of the EU, and vaccinations. Gilroy was also involved in protests against the eviction of a family in
Strokestown,
County Roscommon
"Steadfast Irish heart"
, image_map = Island of Ireland location map Roscommon.svg
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Ireland
, subdivision_type1 = Province
, subdivision_name1 = Connacht
, subdi ...
.
Gilroy was an independent candidate for the Dublin constituency in the
2019 European elections. Following an
RTÉ
(RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...
decision to not include him and other independent and non-party Dublin candidates in a live television debate, Gilroy brought a legal challenge against the public broadcaster to the
High Court. The challenge was subsequently dismissed.
On 21 May he released a campaign video in which he smashed several plasterboards spray painted with the words 'state corruption', 'constitution violations', 'stealing wealth', 'unlawful evictions' and 'RTÉ' with a
hurley
Hurley may refer to:
Places
;In the United Kingdom:
* Hurley, Berkshire
* Hurley, Warwickshire
* Hurley Common, Warwickshire
;In the United States:
* Hurley, Alabama
* Hurley, Mississippi
* Hurley, Missouri
* Hurley, New Mexico
* Hurley, New Y ...
. It quickly went
viral
Viral means "relating to viruses" (small infectious agents).
Viral may also refer to:
Viral behavior, or virality
Memetic behavior likened that of a virus, for example:
* Viral marketing, the use of existing social networks to spread a marke ...
, getting more than 300,000 views overnight.
Gilroy received 7,594 (2.09%) first-preference votes, and was eliminated on the eighth count. Following the result, he announced that he was stepping back from politics in order to spend time with his family.
In January 2020, Gilroy was announced as a candidate for the
Irish Freedom Party
The Irish Freedom Party or the Irexit Freedom To Prosper Party, sometimes referred to as IFP, or IFTPP is a minor right-wing to far-right hard Eurosceptic political party in Ireland, launched on 8 September 2018. It advocates Irish withdrawal ...
in
Dublin Bay North
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 cen ...
at the
2020 general election
The following elections were scheduled to occur in 2020. The International Foundation for Electoral Systems maintains a comprehensive list of upcoming elections on its E-Guide Platform. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calend ...
.
Gilroy was eliminated on the 7th count, with 770 (1%) of first-preference votes.
Legal issues
On 1 November 2013, Gilroy was arrested by Gardaí in
Navan and brought before Dublin High Court to face charges over alleged contempt of orders restraining trespass on a County Kildare stud farm to which receivers have been appointed. Gilroy was accused of being part of a "mob" from the
Rodolphus Allen Family Private Trust
The Rodolphus Allen Family Private Trust is a group, which purports to be a property trust, operating in Ireland. While supporters of the group's methods have stated that it can exploit loopholes in mortgage documents to prevent the takeover of at ...
which forced receivers off the €8 million stud farm.
Gilroy was a serial litigant against
Allied Irish Banks
Allied Irish Banks, p.l.c. is one of the so-called Big Four commercial banks in Ireland. AIB offers a full range of personal, business and corporate banking services. The bank also offers a range of general insurance products such as home, trav ...
which led AIB to take legal action against him in 2017 to prevent him from taking further actions. He was ordered by the court to do 80 hours of community service, which Gilroy did not complete and led to him being found in contempt of court.
Gilroy was subsequently jailed for three months in January 2019.
He was released on bail pending a High Court challenge to the three-month sentence, but he was ordered by the court to return to jail and complete his original sentence. He was supported by
Gemma O'Doherty.
The High Court of Ireland granted AIB an
Isaac Wunder order
An Isaac Wunder order is an order issued by an Irish court restricting the ability of a vexatious litigant to institute legal proceedings without leave from that or another court, whether for a specified period of time or indefinitely. It is named ...
against Gilroy in 2018 for continued
frivolous or vexatious cases brought against the bank ostensibly on behalf of various business associates and clients.
During 2020, Gilroy was charged, in a prosecution taken by the
Standards in Public Office Commission, for failing to comply with the regulations relating to election expenses following his 2019 European Parliament campaign.
Personal life
Gilroy is originally from
Raheny
Raheny () is a northern suburb of Dublin, Ireland, halfway from the city centre to Howth. It is centred on a historic settlement, first documented in 570 CE ( Mervyn Archdall). The district shares Dublin's two largest municipal parks, Saint Anne ...
, Dublin. His mother was from Westmeath and his father from Leitrim. He describes himself as uneducated, having left school after the Inter Cert and "qualified from the university of life and the other college of hard knocks".
He is a former bodyguard and runs an electrical business from his home in Navan.
He is married with four children.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilroy, Ben
Living people
Bodyguards
People from Raheny
Pseudolaw
Year of birth missing (living people)