Christy Burke

Cllr
Christy Burke
Dublin City Councillor
Incumbent
Assumed office
20 June 1985
ConstituencyNorth Inner City
Lord Mayor of Dublin
In office
June 2014 – June 2015
Preceded byOisín Quinn
Succeeded byCríona Ní Dhálaigh
Personal details
Born1948
Political partyIndependent
Sinn Féin (to 2009)
OccupationDocker

Christopher Burke is an independent Dublin City Councillor and former Lord Mayor of Dublin.[1]

Burke sided with the Provisional Irish Republican Army in the 1970 split in Sinn Féin and the IRA. He served two prison sentences in Portlaoise Prison on IRA membership charges in the 1970s.[2] By his own account, Burke rejoined the IRA upon leaving prison.[3]

In the early 1980s he became involved in local politics. He was involved in anti-illegal drug trade activism in Dublin, particularly with Concerned Parents Against Drugs, and criticised the Garda Síochána for their treatment of his fellow activists.[4][5] He was first elected to Dublin City Council at the 1985 Dublin Corporation election.[6]

In 1986, he, Tony Gregory and Joe Costello were jailed for fourteen days for campaigning on behalf of Moore Street traders.[7]

In 1996, he was awarded £7,500 for the distress caused by false statements after a member of the Garda Special Branch had told Burke he was in danger of being assassinated.[8]

He was involved in negotiations during the Northern Ireland peace process in the 1990s and supported the IRA ceasefires.[7]

After winning a seat for Sinn Féin in the 2009 Dublin City Council election, he left the party three days later, leading to criticism from Aengus Ó Snodaigh[1] that Sinn Féin had promoted him in the campaign as its longest-serving councillor.[7]

In 2010, the Sunday World newspaper was forced by the High Court to apologise to Burke for a May 2007 article by crime reporter Paul Williams, published during the campaigning period for that year's general election, that falsely accused him of knowing a criminal by the name of Christy Griffin, as well as accusing of him of lying about knowing Griffin.[9]

He ran for the Dáil ten times in Dublin Central from 1982 until 2020 but was not elected.[10] In June 2014 he was elected Lord Mayor of Dublin for a year.[11] He was elected for the sixth time at the 2024 Dublin City Council election.[12]

  1. ^ a b Logue, Patrick (9 June 2009). "Burke quits Sinn Féin". The Irish Times.
  2. ^ Yates, Padraig (1985). "Chapter 14". Smack: The Criminal Drugs Racket in Ireland. Gill and Macmillan. p. 233.
  3. ^ Scott, Claire (1 October 2016). "Dublin Lives: Christy Burke on his battle with addiction and being a member of the IRA". Archived from the original on 9 August 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  4. ^ Adams urges alliance on drugs Archived 19 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Mark Brennock, The Irish Times, 18 October 1996
  5. ^ Pushers Out: The Inside Story of Dublin's Anti-drugs Movement Archived 8 June 2020 at the Wayback Machine, André Lyder, p. 32
  6. ^ Councillor Christy Burke's Profile Archived 26 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine, dublin.ie
  7. ^ a b c Byrne, Ciaran (10 June 2009). "Much respected councillor a rare Sinn Fein beast". Irish Independent.
  8. ^ Burke awarded £7,500 in action against former detective garda Archived 19 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine, The Irish Times, 11 November 1996
  9. ^ Sunday World apologises to councillor Archived 10 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine. RTÉ. 9 November 2010.
  10. ^ Ryan, Nicky (10 February 2020). "Social Democrats' Gary Gannon takes final seat in Dublin Central battleground". Thejournal.ie. Archived from the original on 11 February 2020.
  11. ^ "Lord Mayors of Dublin 1665–2020" (PDF). Dublin City Council. June 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
  12. ^ "Elections Ireland Profile: Christy Burke". Elections Ireland.