Malcolm Byrne

Cllr
Malcolm Byrne
Wexford County Councillor
Assumed office
June 2009
Constituency Gorey
Personal details
Born (1974-04-25) 25 April 1974[1][2]
Gorey, County Wexford, Ireland
Nationality Irish
Political party Fianna Fáil
Alma mater University College Dublin

Malcolm Byrne (born 25 April 1974)[1][2] is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who has been a Wexford County Councillor since 2009.

Head of Communications with the Higher Education Authority, Byrne has been Vice-President of the National Youth Council of Ireland, the Union of Students in Ireland's former Education Officer and a former executive member of the European Students' Union. In 2014, he was named as one of the European 40 Under 40, in the European Young Leaders Programme.[2]

The eldest child from a family of five, Byrne attended CBS Secondary and Loreto & CBS Primary Schools in Gorey, later studying law at University College Dublin.[3] When first elected to Gorey Town Council at the first count in 1999, he was its youngest member at the age of 25.[1] He topped the poll again at the 2004 election.[1] He was first elected to Wexford County Council in 2009 and elected Chairman following his 2014 victory.[4][5]

Byrne is openly gay. In January 2006, The Sun included his picture on the cover of its Irish edition beneath the headline "Bertie's FF Man in Gay Web Shame."[6] The "Gay Web Shame" alleged by the tabloid proved on closer examination to simply be a profile on the dating website Gaydar.[6] Byrne responded at the time: "I have not, nor have I ever, done anything illegal and I am not a hypocrite in any way. My views on gay rights issues are well known. I am not married with four children or anything like that, so there is no suggestion of hypocrisy."[1] His family and political career suffered as a result and he was not selected for candidacy in the 2007 general election following this incident.[6]

He was chosen to run for Fianna Fáil in the 2016 general election in the Wexford constituency, although he failed to win a seat.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Cruel smear campaign by rivals won't beat me says gay FF councillor". Sunday Independent. 29 January 2006.
  2. 1 2 3 "Byrne wins place in Euro 'top 40'". Gorey Guardian. 28 January 2014.
  3. ↑ "Personal details". Fiannafail.ie. Archived from the original on 2015-05-18.
  4. ↑ "Malcolm Byrne". ElectionsIreland.org.
  5. ↑ "Gorey's Malcolm Byrne is new chairman of Wexford Co. Council". Wexford Echo. 10 June 2014.
  6. 1 2 3 "Out of touch". Irish Independent. 14 April 2007.
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