Benjamin Andrew Briscoe

Ben Briscoe (11 March 1934 – 10 July 2023) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician. He was a Teachta Dála (TD) for 37 years, representing a series of constituencies in Dublin.

Briscoe was first 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 re-elected at the 1969 general election for Dublin South–Central, where he was re-elected in 1973, and after major boundary changes for the 1977 general election, he was elected for the Dublin Rathmines West constituency. That seat was abolished for the 1981 general election, when he was returned for the re-established Dublin South–Central constituency, which he held until he retired at the 2002 general election.

At the 1992 general election Ben 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 re-counting and re-checking ballot papers, leading to his quote "the agony and the ex-TD." It was the first time that an original result was over-turned in an election in modern Irish state.

Briscoe was sometimes critical of the leader of Fianna Fáil in the 1980s, once describing Charles Haughey leadership as a "Fascist Dictatorship". He fronted a quietly discontented anti-Haughey faction within the Parliamentary Party, which included Charlie McCreevy, during the Haughey's time as Taoiseach.

In 1988–1989 he was Lord Mayor of Dublin, a post previously held by his father Robert.

Ben Briscoe, while Lord Mayor of Dublin, famously paid a visit to Martin Cahill's tent and persuaded him to move into a new house in a more upscale district of Rathmines. In 1978, the Dublin Corporation began preparing to demolish Hollyfield Buildings. Cahill, then serving a four-year prison sentence, fought through the courts to prevent his neighborhood's destruction. Even after the tenements were demolished, he continued to live in a pitched tent on the site.

The Molly Malone statue on Grafton Street, was unveiled by Briscoe during 1988, the Dublin Millennium celebrations, declaring 13 June officially as Molly Malone Day.

Briscoe is one of Ireland's most famous Jewish politicians. The small Irish Jewish community have been enthusiastic and active participants in political and legal world. Briscoe's father was one of several Jews involved in the War of Independence and Sinn Féin movements, which led to the Jewish community being targeted by British occupation forces. In Briscoe's time each of the three main political parties had a Jewish member in Ireland's 166-member Dáil.

References

^ "Mr. Ben Briscoe". Oireachtas Members Database. Retrieved 9 March 2008.

^ "Ben Briscoe". ElectionsIreland.org. Retrieved 9 March 2008.

^ 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

^ "From the archives: How Charlie Won the War (1983)". Politico.ie. Retrieved 9 October 2012.

^ "The Briscoes and service to Ireland". Shamrock Club of Wisconsin. February 2009.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Briscoe

Benjamin Andrew (Ben) Briscoe

• Ireland, Jewish Birth Index
• Birth: Mar 11 1934 - Dublin, Ireland

Benjamin A Briscoe

• England & Wales, Marriage Index, 1837-2005
• Marriage date: July-Aug-Sep 1957
• Marriage place: Stepney, London, England
• Spouse (implied): Marie Jacobs