Joseph Doyle (27 June 1936 – 8 August 2009) was an Irish

Fine Gael Fine Gael ( ; ; ) is a centre-right, liberal-conservative, 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 Éireann. The party had a member ...

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 () is the Local government in the Republic of Ireland, local authority of the city of Dublin in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. As a city council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. Until 2001, the authority was k ...

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( ; , ) is the lower house and principal chamber of the Oireachtas, which also includes the president of Ireland and a senate called Seanad Éireann.Article 15.1.2° of the Constitution of Ireland reads: "The Oireachtas shall co ...

and

Seanad Éireann Seanad Éireann ( ; ; "Senate of Ireland") is the senate of the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann (defined as the house of representatives). It is commonly called the Seanad or ...

, becoming

Lord Mayor of Dublin The Lord Mayor of Dublin () is the honorary title of the chairperson ( ) of Dublin City Council which is the local government body for the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. The incumbent, since December 2024, is Fine Gael councillor Emma ...

from 1998 to 1999.

Political career

Doyle, a former

sacristan A sacristan is an officer charged with care of the sacristy, the church, and their contents. In ancient times, many duties of the sacrist were performed by the doorkeepers ( ostiarii), and later by the treasurers and mansionarii. The Decretal ...

in the local

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

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 elected to

as a Fine Gael

Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( ; ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish language, Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The official Engli ...

(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 Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the President of Ireland upon nomination by Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...

)

Garret FitzGerald Garret Desmond FitzGerald (9 February 192619 May 2011) was an Irish Fine Gael politician, economist, and barrister who served twice as Taoiseach, serving from 1981 to 1982 and 1982 to 1987. He served as Leader of Fine Gael from 1977 to 1987 an ...

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 Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its Abortion by country, legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in r ...

constitutional amendment A constitutional amendment (or constitutional alteration) is a modification of the constitution of a polity, organization or other type of entity. Amendments are often interwoven into the relevant sections of an existing constitution, directly alt ...

. 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 a part of national politic ...

and some other colleagues—endorsed the

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil ( ; ; meaning "Soldiers of Destiny" or "Warriors of Fál"), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party (), is a centre to centre-right political party in Ireland. Founded as a republican party in 1926 by Éamon de ...

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 Seanad 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 senate of the Oireachtas (the legislature of Republic of Ireland, Ireland). The Administrative Panel elects seven senator ...

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 The 21st Seanad was in office from 1997 to 2002. An election to Seanad Éireann, the senate of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament), followed the 1997 general election to the 28th Dáil. The senators served until the close of poll for the 22nd S ...

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 Millennium Spire or the ''Monument of Light'' (), 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 B ...

, 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 disease, non-communicable Neurological disorder, neurological disorders characterized by a tendency for recurrent, unprovoked Seizure, seizures. A seizure is a sudden burst of abnormal electrical activit ...

, 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. Usually, the groom selects close friends and relatives to serve as groomsmen, and it is considered an honor to be selected. From his groomsmen, the groom usuall ...

at the wedding of Irish playwright and author

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

, 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, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, on the southside (Dublin), southside of the city, in the Dublin 4 postal district. It is home to the Irish public service broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) and wa ...

. 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 and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Mayor and Bailiff of

Hemel Hempstead Hemel Hempstead () is a town in the Dacorum district in Hertfordshire, England. It is located north-west of London; nearby towns and cities include Watford, St Albans and Berkhamsted. The population at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 cens ...

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)

{{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 Fine Gael local councillors Administrative Panel senators