Dan Boyle (born 14 August 1962) is an Irish

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...

politician and author who served as Deputy leader of Seanad Éireann from 2007 to 2011. He was a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the ...

from 2007 to 2011, after being nominated by the Taoiseach. He 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 Parlia ...

(TD) for the Cork South-Central from 2002 to 2007. He was elected to

Cork City Council Cork City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach Chorcaí) is the authority responsible for local government in the city of Cork in Ireland. As a city council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. Prior to the enactment of the 2001 Act, t ...

in May 2019.

Early life and education

Boyle was born in Chicago,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockfo ...

, to emigrant Irish parents. He has lived in his mother's native city of

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

since he was eight years of age, in the Turners Cross area of the city. He was educated at local schools; Scoil Chríost Rí and

Coláiste Chríost Rí Coláiste Chríost Rí ( en, Christ the King College) is a Trusteeship Board Catholic secondary school for boys based on Capwell Road in Turners Cross, Cork, Ireland. History The school was founded by the Presentation Brothers and owned by th ...

, and at the

Cork Institute of Technology Cork Institute of Technology (CIT; ga, Institiúid Teicneolaíochta Chorcaí) was an institute of technology, located in Cork, Ireland. Upon its dissolution, the institute had 17,000 students studying in art, business, engineering, music, dra ...

, where he studied Business Studies and Child Care. He received an MBS in Government from

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one o ...

in 2015. He was married to Bláithín Hurley from 1987 to 2014, they have one daughter. At the time of the 1992 general election, he had served as a board member of the Cork Youth Federation, the National Youth Federation, and as chairperson of the National Youth Clubs Council.

Political career

In 1991, he was elected to

, the first Green Party candidate to do so. At the 2002 general election, he was elected to

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( , ; ) is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature), which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann (the upper house).Article 15.1.2º of the Constitution of Ireland reads: ...

for the Cork South-Central constituency. He was the Green Party Spokesperson for Finance, Social and Family Affairs and Community, Rural Development and the Islands during the

29th Dáil 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Arabic digit In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...

. He was also the party

whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally ...

. In 2002, he resigned his seat on Cork City Council, where he was replaced by Chris O'Leary. At the 2007 general election, Boyle lost his seat in the Dáil. He was subsequently part of the Green Party team that negotiated a programme that brought the party into the Irish government for the first time in its history. He was nominated by Taoiseach

Bertie Ahern Bartholomew Patrick "Bertie" Ahern (born 12 September 1951) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1997 to 2008, Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1994 to 2008, Leader of the Opposition from 1994 to 1997, Tánaiste an ...

Seanad Éireann Seanad Éireann (, ; "Senate of Ireland") is the upper house of the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann (the lower house). It is commonly called the Seanad or Senate and its memb ...

as a Senator on 3 August 2007. He was appointed as Deputy Leader of the Seanad on 16 August 2007. He succeeded

John Gormley John Gormley (born 4 August 1959) is an Irish former Green Party politician who served as Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government from June 2007 to January 2011, Leader of the Green Party from June 2007 to May 2011 and Lor ...

as Chair of the Green Party/Comhaontas Glas in 2007. He was succeeded in that office by

Roderic O'Gorman Roderic O'Gorman (born 12 December 1981) is an Irish Green Party politician who has served as Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth since June 2020. He has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin West constituency ...

in 2011. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the Green Party in the

2009 European Parliament election The 2009 European Parliament election was held in the 27 member states of the European Union (EU) between 4 and 7 June 2009. A total of 736 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) were elected to represent some 500 million Europeans, making th ...

for the

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

constituency. Commenting on

Willie O'Dea Willie O'Dea ( ; born 1 November 1952) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Limerick City constituency since 2011, and previously from 1982 to 2011 for the Limerick East constituency. He has served as M ...

's defamation case on 17 February 2010, Boyle said that he has "no confidence" in O'Dea and declaring him to be "compromised". On 18 February 2010, O'Dea resigned as Minister for Defence. He ran for

in Cork South-Central constituency at the 2011 general election, but failed to get elected. He stood as a candidate in the 2011 Seanad election on the

Industrial and Commercial Panel The Industrial and Commercial Panel ( ga, An Rolla Tionscail Agus Tráchtála) is one of five vocational panels which together elect 43 of the 60 members of Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the Oireachtas (the legislature of Ireland). The Ind ...

but was not elected. He was an unsuccessful Green Party candidate for Cork City Council at the 2014 local elections. In May 2019, Boyle was elected to Cork City Council for the Cork South Central local electoral area. In November 2019, he sought to have further drive-thru restaurants banned in Cork. ''The Southern Star'' reported in October 2020 that Boyle was a voluntary board member of CHA, an Approved Housing Body (2020). He has also served as a board member of the Firkin Crane, the Crawford Art Gallery, Corcadorca Theatre Company, Terence MacSwiney Community College and the Lavitt Gallery. He was made a community representative on the Public Participation Network for Cork City Council. Boyle has served as Vice President of the National Youth Council of Ireland and Chair of NASC, the Irish Immigrant Support Agency. As of 2021, Boyle served on the Board of the Irish Council of Social Housing.

Other work

In 2011, he released a music album titled ''Third Adolescence''. He has authored three books on political history - ''A Journey to Change'' (2006); ''Without Power of Glory'' (2012) and ''Making Up The Numbers'' (2017). He was later hired by the

Wales Green Party The Wales Green Party ( cy, Plaid Werdd Cymru) is a semi-autonomous political party within the Green Party of England and Wales (GPEW). It covers Wales, and is the only regional party with semi-autonomous status within the GPEW. The Wales Green ...

in 2015, as their campaign manager for the 2016 Welsh Assembly election. In 2015, he was credited by the ''Irish Examiner'' as being the driving force behind the Green Foundation think tank.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boyle, Dan 1962 births Living people Green Party (Ireland) TDs Green Party (Ireland) senators Local councillors in Cork (city) Members of the 23rd Seanad Members of the 29th Dáil Politicians from Chicago Politicians from County Cork You're a Star contestants People educated at Coláiste Chríost Rí Nominated members of Seanad Éireann Alumni of Cork Institute of Technology