Royston Brady
{{short description|Irish businessman and former politician (born 1972)}}
{{Use Hiberno-English|date=June 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| image =
| citizenship = {{ubl|Irish|American}}
| office = Lord Mayor of Dublin
| term_start = 2003
| term_end = 2004
| predecessor = Dermot Lacey
| successor = Michael Conaghan
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=y|1972|8|24}}
| birth_place = Dublin, Ireland
| relatives = Cyprian Brady (brother)
}}
Royston Mathew Brady (born 24 August 1972) is an Irish businessman and former politician, who was Lord Mayor of Dublin between 2003 and 2004. Once considered a protégé of Bertie Ahern, Brady fell foul of the Fianna Fáil party in the mid-2000s and drifted out of Irish politics. He left Ireland during the post-2008 Irish economic downturn and emigrated to Florida in the United States.
Background and early life
Brady was born in Holles Street Hospital and brought up in Artane, he was one of the nine children of Richard Brady from Dublin's inner city and Doreen Lynch from Clanbrassil Street; his father was a taxi driver, showband singer and furniture dealer.{{Cite news |title=Royston Brady: Mayor who swears by his passion for politics |url=https://www.thetimes.com/world/ireland-world/article/profile-royston-brady-mayor-who-swears-by-his-passion-for-politics-72swcct36g2 |url-access=subscription |website=Sunday Times}}
He attended the Billie Barry stage school{{Cite news |last=McGoran |first=Fiona |date=9 November 2003 |title=Lord mayor takes credit where he can; Fame and Fortune. |page=14 |work=Sunday Times (Ireland edition) |id={{gale|A110244693}} |via=Gale Academic OneFile}} and appeared as an extra in the film Excalibur in 1981. He was also an under-age footballer with St Vincent's GAA Club.
He attended St. Joseph's Secondary C.B.S. in Fairview and later studied at Athlone RTC, Louvain in Belgium and Boston College USA.
Brady became a member of Ógra Fianna Fáil at age 11.
Business life
Having trained as a hotelier in the US and Ireland, Brady became general manager of the Royal Marine Hotel in Dún Laoghaire in June 1997. From 2000 to 2003 he worked as a consultant for training agency CERT. In 2005 he set up Alpha Recruitment, a recruitment and consultancy company specialising in the hotel and tourism sectors, which was sold for an undisclosed sum to Stepone Recruitment in 2008.{{Cite web |date=25 April 2008 |title=STEP by STEP Recruiting |url=http://www.stepone.ie/industry_news_details.asp |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100710042013/http://www.stepone.ie/industry_news_details.asp |archive-date=10 July 2010 |website=Step One}}
Brady left his job as general manager at Roganstown Hotel Country Club in Swords, County Dublin after highlighting alleged "illegal" bar licensing practices.{{Cite news |last=Gartland |first=Fiona |date=14 June 2012 |title=Former lord mayor in unfair dismissal case against hotel |newspaper=The Irish Times |url=http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/0614/1224317878933.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160131091900/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/former-lord-mayor-in-unfair-dismissal-case-against-hotel-1.1065956 |archive-date=31 January 2016}} Brady project managed the opening of Parnell's GAA Club, in Coolock.{{citation needed|date=February 2019}}
Brady served on a number of boards including Dublin Port, Dublin Tourism and the Dublin Enterprise Board.{{Cite web |date=20 January 2004 |title=The Rise and Rise of Royston |url=http://www.independent.ie/unsorted/features/the-rise-and-rise-of-royston-189048.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024045139/http://www.independent.ie/unsorted/features/the-rise-and-rise-of-royston-189048.html |archive-date=24 October 2012 |website=Irish Independent}}
Political career
Brady was elected at the 1999 Dublin City Council election as a Fianna Fáil candidate. Aged 26, he was the youngest member of the council at the time.{{Cite web |last=Egan |first=Barry |date=27 January 2008 |title=It was a real test for our marriage |url=http://www.independent.ie/national-news/it-was-a-real-test-for-our-marriage-1275262.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160315084906/http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/it-was-a-real-test-for-our-marriage-26347708.html |archive-date=15 March 2016|website=Sunday Independent}} In 2000 he served as deputy Lord Mayor of Dublin and in 2003 was elected Lord Mayor of Dublin.{{cite web|url=https://www.dublincity.ie/sites/default/files/2020-09/lord-mayors-of-dublin-1665-2021.pdf|title=Lord Mayors of Dublin 1665–2020 |work=Dublin City Council|date=June 2020|access-date=18 November 2023}}
On taking office, he declared that he would be a people's mayor, insisting that Dubliners deserved better than a token figurehead. He said he was making the issue of street crime in Dublin one of his top priorities and while in office he was publicly critical of the efforts of Michael McDowell, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, against crime and at one point referred to him as a bully giving the two fingers to Dublin.{{Cite web |date=26 June 2004 |title=Why the future's not rosy for citizen Royston |url=http://www.independent.ie/unsorted/features/why-the-futures-not-rosy-for-citizen-royston-169219.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024045339/http://www.independent.ie/unsorted/features/why-the-futures-not-rosy-for-citizen-royston-169219.html |archive-date=24 October 2012 |website=Sunday Independent}}{{Cite web |last=Donaghy |first=Kathy |date=7 August 2003 |title=Mayor hits out at failure to tackle street crime |url=https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/mayor-hits-out-at-failure-to-tackle-street-crime-25933881.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221201132228/https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/mayor-hits-out-at-failure-to-tackle-street-crime-25933881.html |archive-date=1 December 2022|website=Sunday Independent}}
Brady worked to tackle homelessness in Dublin receiving an international honour for his efforts.{{Cite web |title=It's a thin line between church and state |url=http://www.tribune.ie/article/2009/may/31/its-a-thin-line-between-church-state/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100708234324/http://www.tribune.ie/article/2009/may/31/its-a-thin-line-between-church-state/ |archive-date=8 July 2010 |access-date=8 July 2010 |website=Tribune}} He also hosted a homeless couple's wedding in the Mansion House to raise awareness of the plight of Dublin's homeless.{{Cite web |date=5 November 2003 |title=Homeless lovers wed in style |url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-30120217.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221201122156/https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-30120217.html |archive-date=1 December 2022|access-date=1 December 2022 |website=BreakingNews.ie}}
A Dublin football supporter, during his time Brady conferred the freedom of the city on footballer Kevin Heffernan.{{Cite web |last=Proby |first=Johnny |date=2 March 2004 |title=Freedom of the city for Heffernan |url=http://www.rte.ie/sport/gaa/2004/0302/heffernan.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025145929/http://www.rte.ie/sport/gaa/hurling/2004/0302/179515-heffernan/ |archive-date=25 October 2012|access-date=1 December 2022 |website=RTÉ Sport |via=Wayback Machine}}
Brady was a candidate at the 2004 European Parliament election in the Dublin constituency. During the campaign, he was falsely accused of lying about an incident involving his father's taxi being involved in the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings.{{Cite web |last=Mullen |first=Ronan |date=23 June 2004 |title=You saw it as it happened — an honest man mugged by the media |url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/columnists/arid-10079630.html |website=Irish Examiner}} Brady was accused by the media of using the incident to obtain the sympathy of the voters.{{Cite web |date=9 June 2004 |title=Royston Brady in Dublin bombing controversy |url=http://breakingnews.ie/2004/06/09/story151553.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041103143959/http://www.breakingnews.ie/2004/06/09/story151553.html |archive-date=3 November 2004|access-date=1 December 2022|website=Breaking News}} Brady's version of events was later proven correct by the Irish news media following archival research.{{cite news |last=Egan |first=Barry |date=27 January 2008 |title='It was a real test for our marriage' |url=https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/it-was-a-real-test-for-our-marriage-26347708.html |work=Irish Independent |location= |access-date=1 March 2023}}
Honours
While Lord Mayor, Brady was awarded a knighthood by the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George in recognition of Dublin City Council's work "in assisting homeless people". The award was bestowed by Cardinal Mario Pompedda at a ceremony in Áras an Uachtaráin in May 2004.{{Cite web |last=Quinn |first=David |author-link=David Quinn (columnist) |date=21 May 2005 |title=Taoiseach and President receive knighthoods for peace efforts |url=https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/taoiseach-and-president-receive-knighthoods-for-peace-efforts-25915273.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180813075423/https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/taoiseach-and-president-receive-knighthoods-for-peace-efforts-25915273.html |archive-date=13 August 2018 |website=Irish Independent}}{{Cite news |last=McCarthy |first=Justine |date=12 August 2018 |title=Can a papal visit heal the church's reputation? |work=Sunday Times |url=https://www.thetimes.com/world/ireland-world/article/can-a-papal-visit-heal-the-churchs-reputation-zmn7zr93t |authorlink=Justine McCarthy}}
Family and personal life
Brady married Michelle McConalogue from Carndonagh, County Donegal in December 2003.{{Cite web |date=19 February 2006 |title=Royston to start his own Brady bunch |url=http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/news-gossip/royston-to-start-his-own-brady-bunch-127009.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024045128/http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/independent-woman/celebrity-news-gossip/royston-to-start-his-own-brady-bunch-127009.html |archive-date=24 October 2012|website=Sunday Independent}} In 2012 Brady and his family emigrated to the United States with their children. Brady and his family became US Citizens in December 2021.{{cite news |last=Cox |first=James |date=8 September 2022 |title=Former Dublin mayor Royston Brady on becoming a US citizen and voting Republican |url=https://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/former-dublin-mayor-royston-brady-on-becoming-a-us-citizen-and-voting-republican-1360737.html |work= |location= |access-date=}} Since moving to the United States, Brady has become a supporter of Republican Ron DeSantis.
His father won an All Ireland minor medal with Dublin in 1954,{{citation needed|date=February 2019}} and his brother, Cyprian was a TD for Dublin Central from 2007 to 2011.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-civ}}
{{s-bef|before = Dermot Lacey}}
{{s-ttl|title = Lord Mayor of Dublin
|years = 2003–2004}}
{{s-aft|after = Michael Conaghan}}
{{s-end}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brady, Royston}}
Category:Businesspeople from County Dublin
Category:Fianna Fáil local councillors
Category:Lord mayors of Dublin
Category:Politicians from Dublin (city)
Category:People educated at St Joseph's, Fairview