Joe Behan (born 30 July 1959) is an Irish politician. He served as 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

Wicklow Wicklow ( ; , meaning 'church of the toothless one'; ) is the county town of County Wicklow in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the east of Ireland, south of Dublin. According to the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, it had ...

constituency from 2007 to 2011. He was elected as a TD at the 2007 general election. A former teacher and primary school principal from

Bray Bray may refer to: Places France * Bray, Eure, in the Eure ''département'' * Bray, Saône-et-Loire, in the Saône-et-Loire ''département'' * Bray-Dunes, in the Nord ''département'' * Bray-en-Val, in the Loiret ''département'' * Bray-et-Lû ...

, Behan was a long-serving member of Bray Town Council and

Wicklow County Council Wicklow County Council () is the local authority of County Wicklow, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing and community, roads and transportation, urban planning an ...

, winning and holding his seat at the

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

and

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

local elections. He was Cathaoirleach (chairman) of Wicklow County Council from 2006 to 2007, but in accordance with the abolition of the

dual mandate A dual mandate occurs when an official serves in or holds multiple public positions simultaneously. This practice is sometimes known as double jobbing in Britain, double-dipping in the United States, and ''cumul des mandats'' in France. Thus, if ...

under the

Local Government Act 2001 The Local Government Act 2001 (No. 37) was enacted by the Oireachtas on 21 July 2001 to reform local government in Ireland. Most of the provisions of the Act came into operation on 1 January 2002. The act was a restatement and amendment of pr ...

he was deemed to have resigned his council seats when elected to the Dáil in 2007. Behan unsuccessfully sought 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 ...

nomination to contest the 1997 general election in the Wicklow constituency. He did not win a nomination until December 2006, when he was one of three candidates selected by the party for the 2007 general election. He was elected to Dáil Éireann at the 2007 general election. On 17 October 2008 he resigned from Fianna Fáil in protest at the 2009 Budget. In his letter of resignation he stated: "I intend to adopt an independent stance on each and every issue which comes before the Dáil from now on." He stood for re-election in Wicklow at the 2011 general election as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

, but lost his seat receiving 6% of the first preference vote, down from 14.5% in 2007. In 2014, he announced that he would be standing as an independent for the 2014 local elections for the Bray local electoral area. He was elected to

on the first count, getting 1,776 (just over 14%) first preference votes, 384 more than the quota. He was an independent candidate for the Wicklow constituency at the 2016 general election but was not elected. He was re-elected to

in the 2019 local elections on the first count, having topped the poll in Bray East with 1,880 (just under 29%) first preference votes. Behan stood as an independent in Wicklow for the 2020 general election. He received 2,988 first preference votes (4.2%) and was eliminated on the 13th count.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Behan, Joe 1959 births Living people Fianna Fáil TDs Independent TDs Members of Wicklow County Council Members of the 30th Dáil People from Bray, County Wicklow Politicians from County Wicklow Alumni of Carysfort College Independent local councillors in the Republic of Ireland