Colm Brophy (born 22 June 1966) is 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 who has been a
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 the
Dublin South-West
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, part of the Wicklow Mountains range. Dublin i ...
constituency since the
2016 general election.
He served as a
Minister of State
Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...
from July 2020 to December 2022 and again since February 2025.
Early life
Originally from
Cabinteely
Cabinteely () is a suburb of Dublin's southside. It is in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, County Dublin, Ireland. The population of all electoral divisions labelled as Cabinteely was 15,864 as of the 2022 census.
Geography
Cabinteely lies around t ...
, Brophy studied business at
Rathmines College of Commerce.
Before becoming a councillor, he was the Director of Elections for the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
campaigns for Fine Gael candidates
Mary Banotti
Mary Elizabeth Banotti (; 29 May 1939 – 10 May 2024) was an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Dublin constituency from 1984 to 2004.
Early life and education
Banotti was born in Malah ...
and
Gay Mitchell
Gabriel Mitchell (born 30 December 1951) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Minister of State for European Affairs from 1994 to 1997 and Lord Mayor of Dublin from 1992 to 1993. He served as a Member of the European Parliament ...
.
Political career
Brophy was co-opted to
South Dublin County Council
South Dublin County Council () is the local authority of the county of South Dublin, Ireland. It is one of three local authorities created by the Local Government (Dublin) Act 1993 to succeed the former Dublin County Council before its abolitio ...
in 2008, and served as a councillor until 2016.
During 2015 until his election to the Dáil, Brophy served as President of the Association of Irish Local Government (AILG).
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
A first-preference is a voter's most-preferred candidate. In certain ranked systems such as first preference plurality, ranked-choice voting (RCV), and the single transferable vote, first preferences for a candidate are considered most important ...
, and was elected on the sixteenth count. Brian Lawlor was co-opted to fill Brophy's seat on South Dublin County Council.
He was appointed Chair of the Dáil Committee on Budgetary Oversight in December 2017.
At the
2020 general election, he won 12.2% of the
first-preference votes
A first-preference is a voter's most-preferred candidate. In certain ranked systems such as first preference plurality, ranked-choice voting (RCV), and the single transferable vote, first preferences for a candidate are considered most important ...
, and was re-elected on the tenth count.
Following the formation of the
32nd government of Ireland
3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious and cultural significance in many societies ...
, Brophy was appointed on 1 July 2020 as
Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs
The Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is a junior ministerial post in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Ireland), Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Government of Ireland who may perform funct ...
with responsibility for overseas development aid and diaspora. 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".
He was not re-appointed as a junior minister as part of the
33rd government of Ireland in December 2022.
At the
2024 general election
This is a list of elections that were held in 2024. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world.
* 2024 United Nations Security Council election
* 2024 national electoral calendar
* 2024 local electo ...
, Brophy was re-elected to the Dáil. In February 2025, he was appointed as
with responsibility for migration.
Personal life
Brophy is married to
Maeve O'Connell
Maeve O'Connell is an Irish Fine Gael politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin Rathdown constituency since the 2024 general election.
Career
She has lectured in law and governance at Technological University Dublin. She is ...
, who was elected as a Fine Gael TD for
Dublin Rathdown at the 2024 general election.
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References
External links
Colm Brophy's page on the Fine Gael website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brophy, Colm
Living people
Fine Gael TDs
Members of South Dublin County Council
Members of the 32nd Dáil
Members of the 33rd Dáil
Politicians from Dublin (city)
1966 births
Ministers of State of the 33rd Dáil
Fine Gael local councillors
Members of the 34th Dáil
Ministers of State of the 34th Dáil