His birth mother is Sinéad Cusack, with whom he was later reunited in public.[2] The Cusack-Boyd Barrett connection was revealed to the public in the last week of Boyd Barrett's unsuccessful attempt to be elected to the Dáil, at the 2007 general election; Cusack, a vocal opponent of the Iraq War, canvassed for him.[2] Political commentators incorrectly claimed that Boyd Barrett had leaked his connection with Cusack for political gains; it was actually a meeting of Sunday Independent journalist Liam Collins and the same newspaper's security correspondent Jim Cusack that led to its publication.[7] While both were dining out in Dún Laoghaire, the security correspondent mentioned to Collins: "I heard Sinéad Cusack is his mother".[7] Collins had political reporter Daniel McConnell call Boyd Barrett to ask him.[7] Boyd Barrett asked that it not be published as it was private family information that had nothing to do with his role as a public representative, though, when it was, his mother was then in a position to campaign for him.[7] Since their reunion, Boyd Barrett has had a good relationship with Cusack, her husband Jeremy Irons, and his half-brothers, Sam and Max.[8][9] In May 2013, he revealed that theatre director Vincent Dowling was his biological father.[9]
At the 2011 general election, Boyd Barrett was elected as a TD for Dún Laoghaire for People Before Profit. PBP was part of the United Left Alliance.[12][13] Following a "nail-biting two days" of recounting votes, was elected on the 10th count without reaching the quota.[14][15][16][17]
Dáil Éireann
As a TD, Boyd Barrett, supported protests against cuts to Dublin Bus services, saying that "Some of the older and disabled people are literally prisoners in their homes now as a result of the cut or discontinuation of the service they previously relied on".[18] In the Dáil, he condemned the 2011 murder of PSNI officer Ronan Kerr as "an utterly brutal action, which leads back down a road which has failed".[19] He drafted the text of the first Private Members' motion which suggests there is an "overwhelming democratic case" for putting the EU–IMFbank bailout to a referendum of the Irish people.[20] He also committed to facilitating the nomination of SenatorDavid Norris, for a place on the ballot paper ahead of the 2011 presidential election,[21] and welcomed the release of Teresa Treacy, who was imprisoned for contempt of court over a land development dispute with the ESB and Eirgrid.[22] Marie O'Halloran in The Irish Times described his "consistently passionate outrage and opposition to the Government's handling of the financial and banking crisis."[23]
Boyd Barrett spoke in Dublin location at the 15 October 2011 global protests, inspired by the Spanish "Indignants" and the Occupy Wall Street movements.[24] The same month he said Enda Kenny's government was engaging in "spin and disingenuity" to cover up its austerity policies, decrying the closure of hospital emergency departments around the country for "health and safety" reasons.[25]
On 2 November 2011, Boyd Barrett led the United Left Alliance TDs out of the Dáil, in protest against the government's decision not to hold a debate on the payment of more than €700 million to Anglo Irish Bank bondholders. "You will not even give the parliament the right to vote on the handover of all the money you have taken out of the health service", he objected.[26] On 15 December 2011, he helped launch a nationwide campaign against a proposed household charge being brought in as part of the 2012 Irish budget.[27]
The Phoenix reported that, after a Technical group meeting with the Troika on 17 January 2012,[28] another member of the Technical Group, Mick Wallace, confronted Boyd Barrett and angrily criticized him for "ignoring their advance strategy of dividing up questions between them and dominating the meeting with a raft of his own queries and assertions.[29] Boyd Barrett was part of an Oireachtas delegation that met the Bundestag's Budgetary and European Affairs committees in Berlin, in late January 2012.[30]
In October 2012, he confirmed that he had claimed €12,000 in 2011 expenses for travelling to the Dáil from his home in Glenageary, in his Dún Laoghaire constituency – a distance of 12 km.[31]
Richard Boyd Barrett campaigned against Ireland's bank-bail outs[36] and the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA),[37] organised protests, and supported initiatives such as The Right to Work Campaign.[38][39][40] He also proposed direct investment in public enterprise and strategic industry to create jobs in areas such as renewable energy, food production, generic medicines and IT development.[41] Boyd Barrett has organised a campaign to oppose the sale of St Michael's Hospital to private developers, led campaigns to protect public amenities in Dún Laoghaire,[38] including the Save Our Seafront campaign against a high rise development on the site of the Dún Laoghaire baths,[42][43][44] and he has also campaigned to prevent the acquisition of Dún Laoghaire harbour by private companies.
In a 2021 private members bill, Boyd Barrett called for the Leaving Cert to be abolished and for all students to be able to study any course of their choice regardless of exam results.[45]
Foreign policy
Boyd Barrett helped to organise mass protests against the war in Iraq in 2003.[46][47] He addressed the Dublin leg of the 20 March 2003 International Day of Action.[48] He said that it was "almost certain" that any war would lead to between 50,000 and 100,000 deaths.[49] He said "the complicity of the Irish government in this murderous war through providing facilities for the US military at Shannon airport" was "an absolute disgrace" and urged people to protest in their thousands "to show this carnage is not being mounted in our names".[50] In 2009, he supported the pro-democracy protests in Iran.[51]
In March 2005, according to the Irish Anti-War organisation, Boyd Barrett attended the Cairo Anti-war Conference in Cairo, Egypt, focusing on American intervention in Iraq.[52]
In 2007, he called for Ibrahim Mousawi, head of the Hezbollah-owned Al-Manar TV station, to be allowed to enter Ireland to attend a Dublin conference organised by the Irish Anti-War Movement. According to the Irish Independent, Boyd Barrett said that banning Mousawi amounted to the suppression of "free public debate in the country".[53]
In April 2009, Boyd Barrett addressed the Al-Aqsa Festival fundraising event held at the RDS Concert Hall in Dublin.[54] He said that Israel is "a state built on violence, oppression and apartheid" and "has no right to exist as long as it denies rights to Palestinians."[54]
After the outbreak of the 2023 Israel–Hamas war Boyd Barrett addressed a pro-Palestine rally and compared the situation to the then ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, suggesting that there was a double standard in how the conflicts were perceived in the West.[55] During a session of the Dáil, Boyd Barrett accused Israel of committing ethnic cleansing and taking part in war crimes, and condemned Western governments for failing to hold the Israeli government accountable.[56]
References
^"Richard Boyd Barrett". Oireachtas Members Database. Archived from the original on 15 August 2019. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
^"Gardaí relax Dromoland protest restriction". RTÉ News. 22 June 2004. Archived from the original on 2 July 2004. Retrieved 14 August 2007. After a meeting between the Gardaí and representatives of the movement in Portlaoise this afternoon, spokesperson Richard Boyd Barrett said that while they were pleased the protest would be allowed to go so close to Dromoland Castle, they were disappointed that a request to continue the protest afterwards to Shannon Airport had been turned down by the Gardaí.
^Donald, Niall (3 June 2007). "Harney The Deal Breaker". Sunday Mirror. Archived from the original on 23 September 2021. Retrieved 14 August 2007. Yesterday, Richard Boyd Barrett of the Irish Anti-War Movement called on Tony Gregory and Finian McGrath not to enter government with Fianna Fáil. He said the independent TDs had pledged not to back a Government that allowed the US military use of Shannon Airport. Boyd Barrett added: "Anybody who signed the pledge on the issue of the use of Shannon by the US military I would expect should stick to their principles on the issue."
^Maguire, Steven (18 February 2007). "Jim: Let U.S. Troops Land in Donegal". Sunday Mirror. Archived from the original on 23 September 2021. Retrieved 14 August 2007. But Richard Boyd Barrett of the Irish Anti-War Movement said: "It is hugely immoral for anyone and especially a GP like Dr McDaid to tout for business on the back of 650,000 lives being lost."
^"Nomination of Taoiseach – Votes – Dáil Éireann (32nd Dáil)". Houses of the Oireachtas. 10 March 2016. Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2020. That Dáil Éireann nominate Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett for appointment by the President to be Taoiseach