Colm Brophy
{{Short description|Irish politician (born 1966)}}
{{Use Hiberno-English|date=September 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2024}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-suffix = TD
| image = Colm Brophy 2024 (cropped).jpg
| caption = Brophy in 2024
| office = Minister of State
| suboffice = Justice, Home Affairs and Migration
| subterm = 2025–
| suboffice1 = Foreign Affairs
| subterm1 = 2020–2022
| office2 = Chair of the Committee on Budgetary Oversight
| term_start2 = 13 December 2017
| term_end2 = 1 July 2020
| predecessor2 = Josepha Madigan
| successor2 = Neasa Hourigan
| office3 = Teachta Dála
| term_start3 = February 2016
| term_end3 =
| constituency3 = Dublin South-West
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1966|6|22|df=y}}
| birth_place = Dublin, Ireland
| death_date =
| death_place =
| party = Fine Gael
| spouse = {{marriage|Maeve O'Connell|1998}}
| children =
| alma_mater = Dublin Institute of Technology
| website =
}}
Colm Brophy (born 22 June 1966) is an Irish Fine Gael politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin South-West constituency since the 2016 general election.{{cite web|url=https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/member/Colm-Brophy.D.2016-10-03/|title=Colm Brophy|work=Oireachtas Members Database|access-date=28 December 2018|archive-date=28 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181228174700/https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/member/Colm-Brophy.D.2016-10-03/|url-status=live}} He served as a Minister of State from July 2020 to December 2022 and again since January 2025.
Early life
Originally from Cabinteely, Brophy studied business at Rathmines College of Commerce.{{Cite news |last=Holland |first=Kitty |title=Election 2020: Colm Brophy (Fine Gael) |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/election-2020-colm-brophy-fine-gael-1.4169027 |access-date=18 May 2022|newspaper=The Irish Times |language=en}} Before becoming a councillor, he was the Director of Elections for the European Parliament campaigns for Fine Gael candidates Mary Banotti and Gay Mitchell.
Political career
Brophy was co-opted to South Dublin County Council in 2008, and served as a councillor until 2016.{{cite web|url=http://electionsireland.org/candidate.cfm?ID=3875|title=Colm Brophy|work=ElectionsIreland.org|access-date=7 May 2018|archive-date=8 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180508185141/https://electionsireland.org/candidate.cfm?ID=3875|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.rte.ie/news/election-2016/candidates/754435-colm-brophy/|title=Election 2016: Colm Brophy|publisher=RTÉ|date=28 February 2016|access-date=28 February 2016|archive-date=1 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160301004453/http://www.rte.ie/news/election-2016/candidates/754435-colm-brophy/|url-status=live}} During 2015 until his election to the Dáil, Brophy served as President of the Association of Irish Local Government (AILG).{{cite news|title=AILG Activity Report 2014-19|url=https://ailg.ie/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/AILG-Activity-Report-2014-2019-June-2019.pdf|date=June 2019|access-date=11 December 2024}}
At the 2016 general election, Brophy stood as one of three Fine Gael candidates in the Dublin South-West constituency. He won with 10.7% of the first preference votes, and was elected on the sixteenth count.{{cite web |url=http://elections.independent.ie/election-2016/dublin-south-west |title=Constituency: Dublin South-West |publisher=Irish Independent |location=Dublin |date=27 February 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210618141029/https://elections.independent.ie/election-2016/dublin-south-west |archive-date=18 June 2021 |access-date=22 September 2021 }} Brian Lawlor was co-opted to fill Brophy's seat on South Dublin County Council.{{cite news |last1=Lyne |first1=Laura |title=New councillors take seats in council chamber |url=https://www.echo.ie/news/article/new-councillors-take-seats-in-council-chamber |access-date=18 June 2021 |work=The Echo |date=21 March 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803172909/https://www.echo.ie/news/article/new-councillors-take-seats-in-council-chamber |archive-date=3 August 2020 |location=Dublin}}
He was appointed Chair of the Dáil Committee on Budgetary Oversight in December 2017.{{cite web |url=http://www.oireachtas.ie/parliament/mediazone/pressreleases/2017/name-45341-en.html |title=Colm Brophy |publisher=Houses of the Oireachtas |date=December 2017 |access-date=22 April 2018 |archive-date=26 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180426072552/http://www.oireachtas.ie/parliament/mediazone/pressreleases/2017/name-45341-en.html |url-status=live }}
At the 2020 general election, he won 12.2% of the first-preference votes, and was re-elected on the tenth count.{{cite news |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/dublin-south-west-results-zappone-bows-out-as-duffy-and-lahart-take-final-seats-1.4165264 |title=Dublin South West results: Zappone bows out as Duffy and Lahart take final seats. Minister Katherine Zappone 'very proud' of change she achieved in Government |first=Kitty |last=Holland |date=10 February 2020 |orig-date=9 February 2020 |newspaper=The Irish Times |location=Dublin |access-date=16 June 2021 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210618062002/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/dublin-south-west-results-zappone-bows-out-as-duffy-and-lahart-take-final-seats-1.4165264 |archive-date=18 June 2021 }}{{cite news |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/election2020/dublin-south-west |title=Election 2020: Dublin South-West |date=10 February 2020 |newspaper=The Irish Times |location=Dublin |access-date=16 June 2021 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210618062804/https://www.irishtimes.com/election2020/dublin-south-west |archive-date=18 June 2021 }} Following the formation of the 32nd government of Ireland, Brophy was appointed on 1 July 2020 as Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs with responsibility for overseas development aid and diaspora.{{cite news |title=Full line up of junior ministers unveiled as Taoiseach accused by one TD of snub |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/full-line-up-of-junior-ministers-unveiled-as-taoiseach-accused-by-one-td-of-snub-1.4293578 |first1=Jennifer |last1=Bray |first2=Fiach |last2=Kelly |first3=Pat |last3=Leahy |date=1 July 2020 |newspaper=The Irish Times |location=Dublin |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210618083256/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/full-line-up-of-junior-ministers-unveiled-as-taoiseach-accused-by-one-td-of-snub-1.4293578 |archive-date=18 June 2021 |access-date=22 September 2021 }} He said that his "focus in the coming months and years will be to listen to, and to support, our Diaspora communities, particularly its most vulnerable members".{{cite news |title=Colm Brophy TD appointed Junior Minister at the Department of Foreign Affairs |url=https://www.echo.ie/show/article/colm-brophy-td-appointed-junior-minister-at-the-department-of-foreign-affairs |access-date=18 June 2021 |newspaper=The Echo |date=3 July 2020 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210618083642/https://www.echo.ie/show/article/colm-brophy-td-appointed-junior-minister-at-the-department-of-foreign-affairs |archive-date=18 June 2021 |location=Dublin |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://www.dfa.ie/news-and-media/press-releases/press-release-archive/2020/july/colm-brophy-td-appointed-as-minister-for-overseas-development-aid-and-diaspora.php |title=Press release: Colm Brophy, T.D. appointed as Minister for Overseas Development Aid and Diaspora Press release |website=Department of Foreign Affairs |access-date=18 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200708202926/https://www.dfa.ie/news-and-media/press-releases/press-release-archive/2020/july/colm-brophy-td-appointed-as-minister-for-overseas-development-aid-and-diaspora.php |archive-date=8 July 2020 |date=2 July 2020 |url-status=live}} He was not re-appointed as a junior minister as part of the 33rd government of Ireland in December 2022.{{cite web|url=https://www.rte.ie/news/politics/2022/1220/1343061-minister-state-cabinet/|title=Carroll MacNeill and O'Donnell promoted to junior ministers|work=RTÉ News|date=21 December 2022|access-date=21 December 2022}}
At the 2024 general election, Brophy was re-elected to the Dáil. In January 2025, he was appointed as Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration with responsibility for migration.
Personal life
File:Colm Brophy & Maeve O'Connell - 18 December 2024 (54212473894) (cropped).jpg
Brophy is married to Maeve O'Connell, who was elected as a Fine Gael TD for Dublin Rathdown at the 2024 general election.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.finegael.ie/our-people/tds/dublin/dublin-south-west/colm-brophy/ Colm Brophy's page on the Fine Gael website]
{{s-start}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before = Ciarán Cannon}}
{{s-ttl|title = Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs
|years = 2020–2022}}
{{s-aft|after = Seán Fleming}}
{{s-bef|before = James Browne
{{small|(Justice)}}
|before2 = Joe O'Brien
{{small|(Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth)}}}}
{{s-ttl|title = Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration
|years = 2025–present}}
{{s-inc}}
{{s-end}}
{{Current TDs}}
{{Dublin South-West (Dáil constituency)/TDs}}
{{Fine Gael}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brophy, Colm}}
Category:Members of South Dublin County Council
Category:Members of the 32nd Dáil
Category:Members of the 33rd Dáil
Category:Politicians from Dublin (city)
Category:Ministers of State of the 33rd Dáil
Category:Fine Gael local councillors