Brian Walsh (born 28 September 1972) is a former Irish

Fine Gael Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil � ...

politician who served as a

Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( , ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas (the Irish Parliament). It is the equivalent of terms such as ''Member of Parli ...

(TD) for the Galway West constituency from 2011 to 2016. He also served as

Mayor of Galway The office of Mayor of Galway is an honorific title used by the of Galway City Council. The council has jurisdiction throughout its administrative area of the city of Galway which is the largest city in the province of Connacht, in Ireland. The ...

from 2006 to 2007. He sat for a time as an

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

TD, having lost the Fine Gael parliamentary

party whip A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. This means ensuring that members of the party vote according to the party platform, rather than according to their own individual ideology ...

, from July 2013 to April 2014.

Local politics

He was elected to

Galway City Council Galway City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach na Gaillimhe) is the authority responsible for local government in the city of Galway, Ireland. As a city council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for hou ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

and re-elected in

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

. He was the

from 2005 to 2006 and was the city's youngest ever mayor. Redevelopment work on

Eyre Square Eyre Square (; ga, An Fhaiche Mhór, also known as John F. Kennedy Memorial Park) is a city public park in Galway, Ireland. The park is within the city centre, adjoining the nearby shopping area of William Street and Shop Street. Galway rail ...

in Galway began in 2004. There was controversy when the building contractors, Samuel Kingston Construction, left the site and did not return. Some businesses were affected by the abandoned building site which had become an embarrassment to the city. On becoming Mayor of Galway, Walsh set up a task force to take charge of the project, and he led the effort to complete the works. The square re-opened on 13 April 2006.

2011 general election

In December 2010, Walsh was selected by

to contest the next general election in Galway West. The then Fine Gael deputy

Pádraic McCormack Pádraic McCormack (born 15 May 1942) is a former Irish Fine Gael politician, who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Galway West constituency from 1989 to 2011, and as a Senator from 1987 to 1989. McCormack is a native of Kenagh, County ...

subsequently announced his retirement after not being selected at the party convention. Senator

Fidelma Healy Eames Fidelma Healy Eames (born 14 July 1962) is a former Irish politician and former member of Seanad Éireann. She was first elected to the Senate in 2007 by the Labour Panel. As a member of the Reform Alliance group, she sat as an independent se ...

was also selected by the party to contest the election. Councillors

Seán Kyne Seán Kyne (born 16 May 1975) is an Irish Fine Gael politician who has been a Senator for the Cultural and Educational Panel since March 2020, and previously from February 2020 to March 2020, after being nominated by the Taoiseach. He served as ...

and

Hildegarde Naughton Hildegarde Naughton (born 1 May 1977) is an Irish Fine Gael politician who has served as Government Chief Whip and Minister of State at the Department of Health since December 2022. She has served as a Minister of State attending cabinet since ...

were subsequently added to the ticket as the party adopted an offensive electoral strategy in the constituency.

Expulsion from parliamentary party

Walsh was expelled from the Fine Gael parliamentary party on 2 July 2013, when he defied the party whip by voting against the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013. He was re-admitted to the parliamentary party on 30 April 2014. He did not contest the 2016 general election. He resigned as a TD on 14 January 2016, due to health concerns.

Controversies since resignation

On 28 February 2016, The Irish

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

ran an article stating that Walsh has applied for a medical pension to the Oireachtas Pension Scheme on 16 December 2015, weeks prior to his resignation the following month. The Irish

stated that the pension was requested on "grounds of ill health" and could be worth €500,000 if granted. On 6 March 2016, The Irish

ran an article stating that Walsh had directly lobbied NAMA in respect of the sale of lands by NAMA which were subsequently sold to a business partner of Brian Walsh. On 13 March 2016, The Irish

ran an article stating that Walsh had lobbied NAMA from 2012 to 2014 on half of a long term property developer associate who owned a Hotel in Galway, and who owed NAMA over €100m. On 13 March 2016, Walsh indicated to Galway Media Outlets his intention to sue the Sunday Times and that "he's absolutely confident that his good name will be vindicated". However, no such proceedings were ever taken.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walsh, Brian 1972 births Living people Fine Gael TDs Independent TDs Mayors of Galway Members of the 31st Dáil Politicians from County Galway Alumni of Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology Local councillors in Galway (city)