Joseph Doyle (27 June 1936 – 8 August 2009) was an 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. He served two terms as a deputy for the Dublin South-East constituency. He served variously as a member of

Dublin City Council Dublin City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach Bhaile Átha Cliath) is the authority responsible for local government in the city of Dublin in Ireland. As a city council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. Until 2001, the council was ...

, Dáil Éireann and

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 ...

, becoming

Lord Mayor of Dublin The Lord Mayor of Dublin ( ga, Ardmhéara Bhaile Átha Cliath) is the honorary title of the chairperson ( ga, Cathaoirleach, links=no ) of Dublin City Council which is the local government body for the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. Th ...

from 1998 to 1999.

Political career

Doyle, a former sacristan in the local

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

church in Donnybrook, was first elected to public office at the 1979 local elections, to represent the Pembroke area for

. He served continually in City Hall from 1979 until his retirement at the 2004 local elections. Between 1998 and 1999 he served as

. He was first elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fine Gael

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 Dublin South-East at the November 1982 general election, where his party constituency colleague was party leader (and after the election

Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legislature) and the o ...

) Garret FitzGerald.

Rebellion on abortion

Doyle achieved early party notoriety in 1983, when he was one of eight Fine Gael TDs to defy the party and vote against the Fine Gael– Labour Party coalition's proposed wording to the anti-abortion constitutional amendment. Whereas the government's wording included a negative prohibition, namely that nothing in the constitution should be interpreted as granting a right to abortion, Doyle—along with

Alice Glenn Alice Glenn (; 17 December 1921 – 16 December 2011) was an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin Central constituency from 1981 to 1982 and 1982 to 1987. Although only briefly apart of national politics ...

and some other colleagues—endorsed the

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christia ...

alternative wording that granted a "right to life to the unborn, with due regard to the equal right of the mother". Because of the controversial nature of the issue of abortion, and the fact that Fine Gael was split on it, he was not sacked from the party for breaking the party whip.

Winning and losing seats

He was one of a number of TDs to lose their seats at the 1987 general election. At the Senate election that followed, he was elected by the

Administrative Panel The Administrative Panel () 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 Administrative Panel elects seven senators. Election ...

to sit in the upper house (

). He regained his Dáil seat at the 1989 general election, where he and FitzGerald achieved two seats out of four with a tight vote-management strategy. However, he lost his seat again at the 1992 general election to new running mate Frances Fitzgerald. Though he contested the 1997 general election—under party pressure because it saw Doyle as the party's best chance to win a seat, even though he had originally decided not to contest any more general elections—he failed to regain a Dáil seat. He had the consolation of retaining his Senate seat in the election to the

21st Seanad This is a list of the members of the 21st Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the Oireachtas (legislature) of Ireland. Unless otherwise indicated, these Senators were elected or appointed in 1997, after the 1997 general election and served u ...

Lord Mayor of Dublin

Doyle served as

from 1998 to 1999. He was central to the decision to erect the

Spire of Dublin The Spire of Dublin, alternatively titled the Monument of Light ( ga, An Túr Solais), is a large, stainless steel, pin-like monument in height, located on the site of the former Nelson's Pillar (and prior to that a statue of William Blakeney) ...

, on the site of

Nelson's Pillar Nelson's Pillar (also known as the Nelson Pillar or simply the Pillar) was a large granite column capped by a statue of Horatio Nelson, built in the centre of what was then Sackville Street (later renamed O'Connell Street) in Dublin, Ireland. ...

. On his retirement from Dublin City Council in 2004, his political rival, Labour Party Dublin City Councillor Dermot Lacey, paid the following tribute: "I have long respected his integrity and commitment to achieving what he believed was best for the people he represented. In many ways Joe as a politician is the epitome of the historic mandate of Fine Gael - honourable, conservative, compassionate and committed to the democratic institutions of our State."

Epilepsy

Doyle openly discussed in public life his lifelong experience of battling with

epilepsy Epilepsy is a group of non-communicable neurological disorders characterized by recurrent epileptic seizures. Epileptic seizures can vary from brief and nearly undetectable periods to long periods of vigorous shaking due to abnormal electrica ...

, a consequence of which was that he could not drive, normally a necessity for a local representative elected from a constituency.

Best man at Brendan Behan's wedding

He also revealed that as sacristan in the local church he had been

best man A groomsman or usher is one of the male attendants to the groom in a wedding ceremony and performs the first speech at the wedding. Usually, the groom selects close friends and relatives to serve as groomsmen, and it is considered an honor to be ...

at the wedding of Irish playwright and author

Brendan Behan Brendan Francis Aidan Behan (christened Francis Behan) ( ; ga, Breandán Ó Beacháin; 9 February 1923 – 20 March 1964) was an Irish poet, short story writer, novelist, playwright, and Irish Republican activist who wrote in both English an ...

, when Behan found himself without a best man at the ceremony.

Personal life and family

Joe Doyle married Margaret Mary Maguire on 11 February 1969 in the Church of the Sacred Heart,

Donnybrook, Dublin Donnybrook () is a district of Dublin, Ireland. It is situated on the southside of the city, in the Dublin 4 postal district, and is home to the Irish public service broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). It was once part of the Pemb ...

. They had two sons and one daughter. Joe's step-brother, John Doyle (1925–2009), was also active in politics and was

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

Mayor and Bailiff of

Hemel Hempstead Hemel Hempstead () is a town in the Dacorum district in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of London, which is part of the Greater London Urban Area. The population at the 2011 census was 97,500. Developed after the Second World War as a new ...

in 1969. Doyle was educated at CBS Westland Row.

References

External links

Joe Doyle's coat of arms
as awarded by the Chief Herald of Ireland (scroll to the end of the page)

Patrick Hillery Patrick John Hillery ( ga, Pádraig J. Ó hIrghile; 2 May 1923 – 12 April 2008) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as the sixth president of Ireland from December 1976 to December 1990. He also served as vice-president of the Eur ...

.] * ttps://web.archive.org/web/20150112161751/http://www.epilepsy.ie/index.cfm/spKey/news.brainwave/spId/334829AE-D6E9-39EE-9999FDCA13E936EB.html Epilepsy loses a true advocate {{DEFAULTSORT:Doyle, Joe 1936 births 2009 deaths Fine Gael TDs Lord Mayors of Dublin Members of the 18th Seanad Members of the 24th Dáil Members of the 20th Seanad Members of the 21st Seanad Members of the 26th Dáil People with epilepsy Fine Gael senators Irish anti-abortion activists