Paul Murphy | |
|---|---|
 Murphy in 2016 | |
| Teachta Dála | |
| Assumed office October 2014 | |
| Constituency | Dublin South-West |
| Member of the European Parliament | |
| In office 6 April 2011 – 24 May 2014 | |
| Constituency | Dublin |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1983-04-13)13 April 1983 (age 42) Dublin, Ireland |
| Political party | |
| Other political affiliations | Socialist Party(2001–2019) |
| Domestic partner | Jess Spear[1] |
| Children | 1 |
| Alma mater | University College Dublin |
Paul Murphy (born 13 April 1983) is an IrishPeople Before Profit–Solidarity politician who has been aTeachta Dála (TD) for theDublin South-West constituency since the2014 Dublin South-West by-election.[2] He served as aMember of the European Parliament (MEP) for theDublin constituency from 2011 to 2014.[3]
He was previously a member of theSocialist Party andSolidarity, but left in September 2019 to form a new party,RISE.[4][5] In February 2021, RISE joinedPeople Before Profit as a network, and Murphy became a TD for the party.
Murphy grew up inGoatstown, a suburb ofDublin. His father Kieran Murphy was a senior manager at the Irish division ofMars. His uncleMichael Murphy was a journalist and broadcaster atRTÉ. His family is originally fromCastlebar,County Mayo.[6][7] He attendedSt Kilian's German School inClonskeagh and later studied for the Leaving Certificate at theInstitute of Education, before going on to graduate fromUniversity College Dublin with a degree in law in 2004. He joined theSocialist Party in 2001. In 2004, he ran unsuccessfully for President of theUCD Students' Union.[8] Murphy also worked in theEuropean Parliament as a political advisor to theMEPJoe Higgins.
A 2008 short film described him as a full-timeactivist for the Socialist Party. It followed his involvement in protests against cutbacks atTallaght Hospital, during theIrish financial crisis.[9] He was also active inFree Education for Everyone, a group that campaigned against the reintroduction of fees for third-level education in Ireland.[10] In 2009, he worked on a PhD thesis titledDoes socialist law exist?.[11]
He was a member of the Socialist Party National Committee from 2001 and the National Executive Committee until 2010.[12]
Murphy's partner is Jess Spear, a member ofSouth Dublin County Council, and their first child was born in 2023. Their child will be raised gender neutral.[13]
Murphy replaced Joe Higgins in theEuropean Parliament after Higgins was elected toDáil Éireann at the2011 general election.[14] Murphy sat as a full member on theEuropean Parliament Committee on International Trade and as a substitute on theEmployment and Social Affairs andPetitions committees. He was also a full member of the South Asia delegation and a substitute on the Central Asia delegation.
In 2011, Murphy participated inFreedom Flotilla II, which attempted to breachIsrael'sblockade of the Gaza Strip.[15] In August 2011, he visited the "No TAV" Italian campaign against theTurin–Lyon high-speed railway.[16] A supporter of theShell to Sea campaign, in August 2011, he and others were forcibly removed from a protest byGardaí. A complaint was submitted to theGarda Síochána Ombudsman Commission alleging unreasonable use of force.[17] In early November 2011, Murphy was reported to be part of another Gaza flotilla described as ahumanitarian mission.[18] Israeli forces boarded the ship on 4 November and imprisoned Murphy and all the other activists on board, with one of them saying this was carried out in a "violent and dangerous" manner.[19][20] Israel deported Murphy on 11 November.[21]
In 2012, Murphy set up the website ScamBridge.org for people wishing to share their experiences of the government'sJobBridge scheme.[22] In June 2013, he travelled toIstanbul, Turkey, to speak with activists participating in theGezi Park protests.[23] In 2013 while discussing the Israel-Palestine conflict, Murphy argued that "Palestinians have a right to defend themselves against that aggression and that may involve armed defence against soldiers".[24]
Murphy stood for re-election at the2014 European Parliament election, at which he lost his seat.[25] During the campaign he put his election posters on display before the official campaign start date, a move which risked fines of up to €150,000. He said "people wouldn't be bothered" and defended the move as a response toFianna Fáil candidateMary Fitzpatrick, who had also put up her posters early.[26]Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council andSouth Dublin County Council forced him to remove them.[27] During the campaign, theBroadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) upheld a complaint against the Irish state broadcaster RTÉ which excluded Murphy from a report on the findings of aSunday Business Post/Red C opinion poll on a news programme which they aired on 3 May 2014.[28]
| Elections to theDáil | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Election | FPv | FPv% | Result | ||
| Anti-Austerity Alliance | Dublin South-West | 2014 by-election | 6,540 | 27.2 | Elected on count 8/8 | |
| AAA–PBP[a] | Dublin South-West | 2016 | 9,005 | 13.4 | Elected on count 12/16 | |
| Solidarity–PBP[b] | Dublin South-West | 2020 | 4,477 | 6.6 | Elected on count 8/11 | |
| PBP–Solidarity[c] | Dublin South-West | 2024 | 5,081 | 7.6 | Elected on count 11/11 | |
Murphy was elected to Dáil Éireann for theAnti-Austerity Alliance, at the2014 Dublin South-West by-election.[29] He was re-elected to the Dáil for theDublin South-West constituency at the2016 general election, as a member of the AAA–PBP grouping. He left the Socialist Party in September 2019, but did not leave the parliamentary group (known since 2020 asPeople Before Profit-Solidarity).
On 30 September 2019, Murphy announced a new political group called RISE (Radical Internationalist Socialist Environmentalist).[30] He was re-elected at the2020 general election as a RISE candidate.[31][32]
In February 2021, Murphy became a member of People Before Profit after RISE's entry into the party.[33]
Murphy has advocated in favour ofIrish neutrality. In April 2022, he defended the decision of his and fellow People Before Profit TDs not applaudingVolodymyr Zelenskyy's address to the Dáil.[34]
In September 2022, Murphy was assaulted by protesters outsideLeinster House while leaving the Dáíl,[35] and in April 2023 his family home was targeted by protestors.[36] The following month, Murphy said in an interview onRTÉ Radio that a threat had been made against his wife at a canvassing event.[37]
He was re-elected at the2024 Irish general election.
As a TD for the Anti-Austerity Alliance and member of the Socialist Party, Murphy took a leading role in the We Won't Pay campaign, an anti-water charges organisation advocating non-payment. He spoke at many rallies and protests against both the charges and theFine Gael-Labour Party coalition government. His role during a protest againstTánaisteJoan Burton, inJobstown, Dublin on 15 November 2014, brought criticism from some quarters after Burton's car was blocked by protestors, and she was unable to leave it for over two hours.[38][39][40][41] Afterward, Murphy distanced himself from the actions of some protestors but defended the right to peaceful protest.[42]
On 9 February 2015, he was arrested byGardaí at his home, in relation to the Jobstown protest, and taken into custody along with three otheranti-austerity activists.[43][44] He was released without charge that afternoon.[45]
On 12 August 2015,Paul Reynolds reported on RTÉ'sNine O'Clock News bulletin that Murphy and others would be charged and that trials would occur in theCircuit Court, where penalties are harsher, instead of theDistrict Court.[46] On 15 September 2015, Murphy was served a summons by the Gardaí on charges of false imprisonment of Joan Burton and her assistant.[47] On 29 June 2017, Murphy and five other defendants, including SolidarityCouncillors Kieran Mahon and Mick Murphy, were found not guilty of all charges.[citation needed]
