Brendan Halligan

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Brendan Halligan (born July 5, 1936) is an Irish economist and a former Irish Labour Party politician.

Brendan Halligan was born in Dublin in 1936. Educated at St James’s Christian Brothers School and Kevin Street College of Technology, Dublin, his early career was as an economist. He worked with the Irish Sugar Company until 1967 when he became involved in politics. In that year he became General-Secretary of the Labour Party. The leader, Brendan Corish, relied on Halligan's intellectual and political skills in his new role. Under Halligan the party underwent an energetic reorganisation. New structures and policies were put in place, coinciding with the party’s leftward policy shift and an acute anti-coalition stance. Halligan strongly supported both ideals, but was instrumental in securing the eventual, and somewhat unwilling, acceptance by the party of the reversal of anti-coalitionism after the disappointing results 1969 General Election.

The 1973 General Election saw a Fine Gael-Labour Party coalition government come to power. Halligan, who did not contest the general election was rewarded by being appointed to Seanad Éireann. Three years later in 1976 he won a by-election in Dublin South West, and as a result became a TD. He failed to hold his seat in the 1977 General Election, but continued to serve as General-Secretary of the party until 1980. He contested two further general elections in 1981 and 1982 but failed to be elected. His political career was not at an end when he was appointed to the European Parliament from 1983 until 1984.

Following the end of Halligan's political career he has been managing partner in a public affairs consultancy. He is also Adjunct Professor in European Affairs at the University of Limerick and was chairman of Bord na Móna from 1985 until 1995. He has been a non-executive Member of the board of Irish Permanent since 1992. Like many of his colleagues in the Labour Party, Halligan has had a strong commitment to Europe and European affairs, a trait which was hidden during the party's campaign against the 1972 referendum deciding Ireland's membership. Halligan has also been a member of the Irish Council of the European Movement and the Institute of European Affairs.

He is currently the Policy Coordinator for the Labour Party.

This page incorporates information from the Oireachtas Members Database