Mick Barry (born 17 September 1964) is an Irish People Before Profit–Solidarity politician who was 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

Cork North-Central "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

constituency from 2016 to 2024. According to the ''

Irish Examiner The ''Irish Examiner'', formerly ''The Cork Examiner'' and then ''The Examiner'', is an Republic of Ireland, Irish national daily newspaper which primarily circulates in the Munster region surrounding its base in Cork (city), Cork, though it is ...

'', Barry was "a leading figure in the Cork and national campaigns" against household and water charges in the 2010s.

Personal life

Barry was born in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

in 1964. His family returned to Ireland in 1971 when he was 8 years old, and moved to

Rathfarnham Rathfarnham () is a Southside (Dublin), southside suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland in County Dublin. It is south of Terenure, east of Templeogue, and is in the postal districts of Dublin 14 and Dublin 16, 16. It is between the Lo ...

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

. Barry moved to

Cork city Cork ( ; from , meaning 'marsh') is the second-largest city in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the county town of County Cork, the largest city in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the List of settlements on the island of Ireland ...

in 1991Roche, Barry
"Socialist Party candidate raises red flag in the heart of Cork's north side"
. 19 February 2011. ''The Irish Times''
(archive link)
/ref> and has remained a resident ever since, living in the suburb of

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

Political career

1989 to 2016

Dick Spring Richard Martin Spring (born 29 August 1950) is an Irish former Labour Party (Ireland), Labour Party politician who served as Tánaiste from 1982 to 1987, 1992 to November 1994, and December 1994 to 1997, Leader of the Labour Party (Ireland), L ...

expelled Barry, alongside Joe Higgins, Clare Daly, Ruth Coppinger and 10 others, from the Labour Party in 1989 for their membership of the

Militant tendency The Militant tendency, or Militant, was a Trotskyist group in the British Labour Party, organised around the ''Militant'' newspaper, which launched in 1964. In 1975, there was widespread press coverage of a Labour Party report on the infiltrat ...

. Barry was first elected as a member of Cork City Council in June 2004 and re-elected in June 2009 and May 2014 (both times on the first count). He also stood as a candidate in the

constituency at the

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

and 2011 general elections. On 1 May 2013, gardaí arrested five members of the Campaign Against Home and Water Taxes, including Barry and fellow Cork City Councillor Ted Tynan of the

Workers' Party Workers' Party is a name used by several political parties throughout the world. The name has been used by both organisations on the left and right of the political spectrum. It is currently used by followers of Marxism, Marxism–Leninism, Maoism ...

, during a midday protest inside the

St Patrick's Street St Patrick's Street () is the main shopping street of the city of Cork (city), Cork in the south of Ireland. The street was subject to redevelopment in 2004, and has since won two awards as Ireland's best shopping street. St Patrick's Street is ...

branch of the

Bank of Ireland Bank of Ireland Group plc () is a commercial bank operation in Ireland and one of the traditional Big Four Irish banks. Historically the premier banking organisation in Ireland, the bank occupies a unique position in Irish banking history. At ...

in the city. People gathered on the street. Cllr Tynan said he felt a need to stand up against

austerity In economic policy, austerity is a set of Political economy, political-economic policies that aim to reduce government budget deficits through Government spending, spending cuts, tax increases, or a combination of both. There are three prim ...

. In the 2010s Barry campaigned on a number of issues locally and nationally, notably the

Anti-Bin Tax Campaign The Anti-Bin Tax Campaign opposed the introduction of bin charges (garbage-collection fees) by local authorities in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The campaign centred largely in city areas, in particular Dublin. It was locally based with some co-o ...

with the Householders Against Service Charges (HASC) in Cork, In support of local services in the Cork area such as the cutbacks in bus services, and against the building of a private hospital on the public grounds of Cork University Hospital, and social housing. He called for a ban on home repossessions and considered a controversial Gateway employment scheme to be "slave labour". He called for standing orders to be suspended and proposed a motion condemning the jailing of five activists opposing a proposed tax on water.

2016 to 2024: Dáil Éireann

A founding member of the

Anti-Austerity Alliance Solidarity (), formerly known as the Anti-Austerity Alliance (AAA), is a Trotskyist political party in Ireland, launched in 2014. It had been registered as a political party to contest local elections, and ran at least forty candidates in the 20 ...

(AAA), Barry was elected for the AAA–PBP group, at the 2016 general election, on his fourth attempt. At the 2020 general election, he was re-elected as a Solidarity–People Before Profit TD. He lost his seat by 39 votes (revised from 35 following a partial recount) to Labour candidate Eoghan Kenny in count 17 of the 2024 general election. Under the provisions of the Electoral Act, 1992, Barry requested a recount, though later withdrew the request. Constituency boundary changes prior to the 2024 election moved Mallow, Kenny's hometown, from Cork East to Cork North-Central.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barry, Mick 1964 births American emigrants to Ireland Labour Party (Ireland) politicians Living people Members of Cork City Council Members of the 32nd Dáil Members of the 33rd Dáil People Before Profit–Solidarity TDs Socialist Party (Ireland) candidates in Dáil elections Socialist Party (Ireland) local councillors