Christopher Burke is an

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

Dublin City Council Dublin City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach Bhaile Átha Cliath) is the authority responsible for local government in the city of Dublin in Ireland. As a city council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. Until 2001, the council was ...

lor and former

Lord Mayor of Dublin The Lord Mayor of Dublin ( ga, Ardmhéara Bhaile Átha Cliath) is the honorary title of the chairperson ( ga, Cathaoirleach, links=no ) of Dublin City Council which is the local government body for the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. Th ...

.Burke quits Sinn Féin
Patrick Logue,

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

, 9 June 2009 Burke sided with the

Provisional Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, facilitate Irish reu ...

in the 1970 split in

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gr ...

and the

IRA Ira or IRA may refer to: *Ira (name), a Hebrew, Sanskrit, Russian or Finnish language personal name *Ira (surname), a rare Estonian and some other language family name *Iran, UNDP code IRA Law *Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, US, on status of ...

. He served two prison sentences in Portlaoise Prison on IRA membership charges in the 1970s. By his own account, Burke rejoined the IRA upon leaving prison. In the early 1980s he became involved in local politics. He was involved in anti-

illegal drug trade The illegal drug trade or drug trafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs throug ...

activism in Dublin, particularly with Concerned Parents Against Drugs, and criticised the

Garda Síochána (; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace"), more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards", is the national police service of Ireland. The service is headed by the Garda Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Gove ...

for their treatment of his fellow activists.Pushers Out: The Inside Story of Dublin's Anti-drugs Movement
, André Lyder, p. 32 He was first elected to

in 1985. In 1986, he and

Tony Gregory Tony Gregory (5 December 1947 – 2 January 2009) was an Irish independent politician, and a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin Central constituency from 1982 to 2009. Early life Gregory was born in Ballybough on Dublin's Northside, the secon ...

were jailed for fourteen days for campaigning on behalf of Moore Street traders.Much respected councillor a rare Sinn Fein beast
Ciaran Byrne,

Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper and online publication which is owned by Independent News & Media (INM), a subsidiary of Mediahuis. The newspaper version often includes glossy magazines. Traditionally a broadsheet new ...

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. He was involved in negotiations during the

Northern Ireland peace process The Northern Ireland peace process includes the events leading up to the 1994 Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) ceasefire, the end of most of the violence of the Troubles, the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, and subsequent political developm ...

in the 1990s and supported the IRA ceasefires. After winning a seat for Sinn Féin in the

2009 Irish local elections The 2009 Irish local elections were held in all the Local government in the Republic of Ireland, counties, cities and towns of the Republic of Ireland on Friday, 5 June 2009, on the same day as the 2009 European Parliament election in Ireland, E ...

, he left the party three days later, leading to criticism from

Aengus Ó Snodaigh Aengus Ó Snodaigh (; born 31 July 1964) is an Irish Sinn Féin politician, author and historian who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin South-Central constituency since the 2002 general election. Early and personal life A Dubliner ...

that Sinn Féin had promoted him in the campaign as its longest-serving councillor. In 2010, the ''

Sunday World The ''Sunday World'' is an Irish newspaper published by Independent News & Media. It is the second largest selling "popular" newspaper in the Republic of Ireland, and is also sold in Northern Ireland where a modified edition with more stories r ...

'' 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. He ran for the Dáil ten times in Dublin Central from

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C ...

until

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

but was not elected. In June 2014 he was elected

for a year.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burke, Christy Living people Independent local councillors in the Republic of Ireland Lord Mayors of Dublin Year of birth missing (living people) Provisional Irish Republican Army members Sinn Féin local councillors in the Republic of Ireland Sinn Féin candidates in Dáil elections (post-1923) Independent candidates in Dáil elections