Vincent Browne
Encyclopedia
Vincent Browne is an Irish
print and broadcast journalist
. He is a columnist with The Irish Times
and The Sunday Business Post
and a part time barrister.
From 1996 until 2007, he presented a nightly talk-show on RTÉ Radio
, Tonight with Vincent Browne, which focussed on politics, the proceedings of tribunals on political corruption
and police misconduct
. He now presents Tonight with Vincent Browne
on TV3, which broadcasts from Monday to Thursday at 11.05pm. The Guardian
has described him as an "acerbic host...Ireland's Jeremy Paxman
."
, County Limerick
, where he attended the local national school. He spent a year at the Irish language
college in Ring
, County Waterford
, then a year at St. Mary's secondary school in Dromcolliher
, County Limerick, before going to Castleknock College
(1957–1962). He graduated from University College Dublin
with a Bachelor of Arts
degree in Politics and Economics. He also founded the oldest surviving UCD newspaper, the College Tribune
, in 1986.
The Late Late Show
for five months in 1967–68. He reported on the Soviet and Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia
in 1968 for The Irish Times
and then edited a monthly news magazine, Nusight in 1969–1970.
He was appointed Northern news editor of The Irish Press group in 1970 (working for all three newspapers in the group, The Irish Press
, the Evening Press
and The Sunday Press
) and covered the most intense and violent period of the Northern Ireland conflict
. In 1974, he joined Independent Newspapers
and, after a brief period in the Evening Herald
, worked for the Sunday Independent
, then edited by Conor O'Brien and later by Michael Hand.
He launched Magill
magazine in September 1977 with Noel Pearson and Mary Holland
. Magill became Ireland's foremost investigative publication. Among its writers were Gene Kerrigan
, Pat Brennan
and Paddy Agnew. He remained editor of Magill until 1983, when he became involved in the relaunch of the Sunday Tribune
with Tony Ryan
, then of GPA
and later of Ryanair
. A series of articles he published in Magill highlighting the links between the Workers' Party of Ireland
and the Official IRA
in the 1980s caused him and other journalists to receive death threats. After the publication of "The Lost Revolution: the Story of the Official IRA
and the Workers' Party
" it was revealed that the Official IRA
had planned to assassinate him by planting a bomb on his boat, but the operation was called off at the last minute. He was editor of the Sunday Tribune until 1994. He has written a weekly column for The Irish Times since then, and since 2000, has written weekly for The Sunday Business Post. He started broadcasting on RTÉ radio in 1996.
In 1997, he relaunched Magill magazine, which had ceased publication in 1990. In the 13 issues he published then, the magazine broke several major stories. One led to the establishment of the Planning Tribunal, originally chaired by Mr Justice Fergus Flood; another caused a committee of the Oireachtas
to examine the DIRT
scandal; another caused an investigation of insurance "churning" by Irish Life, a leading Irish insurance company. He sold the Magill title to Hosen publisher, Mike Hogan, in November 1998. He was called to the Irish Bar
in 1997 and for a while practised as a barrister. Now he practises part time.
In October 2004, he launched a current affairs magazine, Village
, of which he was editor. Village ceased publication in August 2008 before being re-launched under a new editor, Michael Smith. Browne now writes a column for Village magazine.
He was involved in a controversy over the tapping of his telephone by the Irish state from February 1975 to February 1983. When this was disclosed by former minister for justice Seán Doherty, Browne sued the State. He made a settlement with the State in 1997 which included an agreement to publish a statement on the settlement, stating, inter alia, that the State had intercepted his telephone conversations for reasons of State security — Browne had written much about the IRA in the early- to mid-1970s — while accepting that Browne had himself never been involved in subversion or crime. On being given access to the transcripts of 81, Browne claimed that it was apparent the motivation for the interception of his telephone conversations for the eight-year period had little to do with the security of the State — it was aimed at garnering information on his work as a journalist, entirely aside from his reporting of the IRA. Browne sought to have the agreement altered to permit a public acknowledgement that the intercepts were not done for security reasons. The Fine Gael
–Labour
coalition government refused. He subsequently disclosed this himself on television and later in print.
For ten years he presented the programme Tonight with Vincent Browne on RTÉ Radio 1
. In August 2000, he substituted for John Bowman on the RTÉ television
programme Questions and Answers. He also presented Prime Time
on RTÉ One
.
Since 14 January 2007, he has presented Tonight with Vincent Browne
, a nightly current affairs television show on TV3. Despite airing on what is usually considered a graveyard slot
, the show has been highly successful drawing an average 166,000 viewers.
during the 1981 Irish hunger strike
. In 1994, he sought a nomination for the Fine Gael
party in that year's European elections or the possible general election of that year (it was thought a general election might follow the collapse of the Albert Reynolds
' government). He was rebuffed by the leader of Fine Gael and future Taoiseach
, John Bruton
. He became a vocal critic of the party.
A staunch critic of Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny
, in 1982 Browne appeared on The Late Late Show to discuss the effectiveness of TDs
where he poured scorn on Kenny, claiming he was "purporting" to be a TD. In October 2010, he was forced to make a public apology to Kenny after jokingly asking whether Fine Gael was requesting that he go into a dark room with a gun and bottle of whiskey. This was in reference to Fine Gael's position in the polls, where they were in second place to Labour, and a previous leadership challenge to Kenny by Richard Bruton
. Kenny refused to appear on the leaders' debate hosted by Browne on TV3 during the 2011 general election campaign.
in June 2011 to pay off debts incurred from the establishment of Village magazine, and to provide a pension.
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
print and broadcast journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
. He is a columnist with The Irish Times
The Irish Times
The Irish Times is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Kevin O'Sullivan who succeeded Geraldine Kennedy in 2011; the deputy editor is Paul O'Neill. The Irish Times is considered to be Ireland's newspaper of record, and is published every day except Sundays...
and The Sunday Business Post
The Sunday Business Post
The Sunday Business Post is an Irish national Sunday newspaper published by Post Publications Limited. Post Publications is owned by Thomas Crosbie Holdings. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, Ireland, the average weekly circulation was 57,783 for the period January to June 2009. The...
and a part time barrister.
From 1996 until 2007, he presented a nightly talk-show on RTÉ Radio
RTÉ Radio
RTÉ Radio is a department of Irish national broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. RTÉ Radio broadcasts four analogue channels and five digital channels....
, Tonight with Vincent Browne, which focussed on politics, the proceedings of tribunals on political corruption
Political corruption
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...
and police misconduct
Police misconduct
Police misconduct refers to inappropriate actions taken by police officers in connection with their official duties. Police misconduct can lead to a miscarriage of justice and sometimes involves discrimination...
. He now presents Tonight with Vincent Browne
Tonight with Vincent Browne
Tonight with Vincent Browne, formerly Nightly News with Vincent Browne, is an Irish news analysis, current affairs and politics programme. It is broadcast on TV3 on Monday to Thursday nights 23:05 to 23:55. It is presented by the journalist Vincent Browne, noted for his rather acerbic style of...
on TV3, which broadcasts from Monday to Thursday at 11.05pm. The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
has described him as an "acerbic host...Ireland's Jeremy Paxman
Jeremy Paxman
Jeremy Dickson Paxman is a British journalist, author and television presenter. He has worked for the BBC since 1977. He is noted for a forthright and abrasive interviewing style, particularly when interrogating politicians...
."
Early life
Born in 1944, he grew up in BroadfordBroadford, County Limerick
Broadford is located in the west of County Limerick in Ireland. It is part of the Roman Catholic parish of Dromcollogher-Broadford. In the 2006 Irish census, the resident population of the Broadford electoral district was 891....
, County Limerick
County Limerick
It is thought that humans had established themselves in the Lough Gur area of the county as early as 3000 BC, while megalithic remains found at Duntryleague date back further to 3500 BC...
, where he attended the local national school. He spent a year at the Irish language
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
college in Ring
Ring, County Waterford
Ring is a Gaeltacht region on a peninsula in the western half of County Waterford, Ireland, approximately seven miles south of Dungarvan town.Ring has many town lands but the main village is situated in Baile na nGall...
, County Waterford
County Waterford
*Abbeyside, Affane, Aglish, Annestown, An Rinn, Ardmore*Ballinacourty, Ballinameela, Ballinamult, Ballinroad, Ballybeg, Ballybricken, Ballyduff Lower, Ballyduff Upper, Ballydurn, Ballygunner, Ballylaneen, Ballymacarbry, Ballymacart, Ballynaneashagh, Ballysaggart, Ballytruckle, Bilberry, Bunmahon,...
, then a year at St. Mary's secondary school in Dromcolliher
Dromcolliher
Dromcolliher is a small Irish town at the crossroads of the R522 and R515 regional roads in the west of County Limerick. It is part of the parish of Dromcollogher-Broadford . It is also very close to the boundary of north County Cork.There are many variations of 'Drom'...
, County Limerick, before going to Castleknock College
Castleknock College
Castleknock College is a private , secondary school for boys aged between 13 and 18, which is situated in the residential suburb of Castleknock, 8 km west of the city centre in Dublin, Ireland.-History:...
(1957–1962). He graduated from University College Dublin
University College Dublin
University College Dublin ) - formally known as University College Dublin - National University of Ireland, Dublin is the Republic of Ireland's largest, and Ireland's second largest, university, with over 1,300 faculty and 17,000 students...
with a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in Politics and Economics. He also founded the oldest surviving UCD newspaper, the College Tribune
College Tribune
The College Tribune is a student newspaper based in University College Dublin. Established in 1989 by one of Ireland's best known print journalists, Vincent Browne, it is UCD's oldest surviving newspaper. It is currently edited by Conor McKenna and Ryan Cullen.The various sections throughout the...
, in 1986.
Career
He worked on RTÉ'sRaidió Teilifís Éireann
Raidió Teilifís Éireann is a semi-state company and the public service broadcaster of Ireland. It both produces programmes and broadcasts them on television, radio and the Internet. The radio service began on January 1, 1926, while regular television broadcasts began on December 31, 1961, making...
The Late Late Show
The Late Late Show
The Late Late Show, sometimes referred to as The Late Late, or in some cases by the acronym LLS, is the world's longest-running chat show by the same broadcaster and the official flagship television programme of Irish broadcasting company RTÉ...
for five months in 1967–68. He reported on the Soviet and Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia
Prague Spring
The Prague Spring was a period of political liberalization in Czechoslovakia during the era of its domination by the Soviet Union after World War II...
in 1968 for The Irish Times
The Irish Times
The Irish Times is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Kevin O'Sullivan who succeeded Geraldine Kennedy in 2011; the deputy editor is Paul O'Neill. The Irish Times is considered to be Ireland's newspaper of record, and is published every day except Sundays...
and then edited a monthly news magazine, Nusight in 1969–1970.
He was appointed Northern news editor of The Irish Press group in 1970 (working for all three newspapers in the group, The Irish Press
The Irish Press
The Irish Press was an Irish national daily newspaper published by Irish Press plc between 5 September 1931 and 25 May 1995.-Foundation:...
, the Evening Press
Evening Press
The Evening Press was an Irish newspaper which was printed from 1954 until 1995. It was set up by Éamon de Valera's Irish Press group, and was originally edited by Douglas Gageby...
and The Sunday Press
The Sunday Press
The Sunday Press was a weekly newspaper published in Ireland from 1949 until 1995. It was launched by Éamon de Valera's Irish Press group following the defeat of his Fianna Fáil party in the Irish general election, 1948...
) and covered the most intense and violent period of the Northern Ireland conflict
The Troubles
The Troubles was a period of ethno-political conflict in Northern Ireland which spilled over at various times into England, the Republic of Ireland, and mainland Europe. The duration of the Troubles is conventionally dated from the late 1960s and considered by many to have ended with the Belfast...
. In 1974, he joined Independent Newspapers
Independent News & Media
Independent News & Media plc , is a media organisation based in Dublin, Ireland, with interests in 22 countries on 4 continents worldwide. The company owns over 200 print titles, more than 130 radio stations, over 100 commercial websites and many billboard locations, and is a leading press player...
and, after a brief period in the Evening Herald
Evening Herald
The Evening Herald is a mid-market tabloid evening newspaper published in Dublin, Ireland by Independent News & Media. It is published Monday-Saturday, and has three editions — City Edition, City Final Edition and National Edition...
, worked for the Sunday Independent
Sunday Independent
The Sunday Independent is a broadsheet Sunday newspaper published in Ireland by Independent News and Media plc. The newspaper is edited by Aengus Fanning, and is the biggest selling Irish Sunday newspaper by a large margin ; average circulation of 291,323 between June 2004 and January 2005,...
, then edited by Conor O'Brien and later by Michael Hand.
He launched Magill
Magill
Magill was an Irish politics and current affairs magazine founded by Vincent Browne and others in 1977. Magill was widely perceived as groundbreaking, specialising in in-depth investigative articles and colourful reportage by journalists such as Eamonn McCann and Gene Kerrigan...
magazine in September 1977 with Noel Pearson and Mary Holland
Mary Holland
Mary Holland was an Irish journalist who specialised in writing about Ireland, and in particular Northern Ireland. Born in Dover but raised in Ireland, she married a British diplomat, Ronald Higgins; they lived in Indonesia, but the marriage was eventually annulled.Originally working in fashion...
. Magill became Ireland's foremost investigative publication. Among its writers were Gene Kerrigan
Gene Kerrigan
Gene Kerrigan is an Irish journalist and novelist who grew up in Cabra in Dublin. His works include political commentary on Ireland since the 1970s in such publications as Magill magazine and the Sunday Independent newspaper. He has also written about Ireland for International Socialism magazine...
, Pat Brennan
Pat Brennan
Patrick J. Brennan became the 7th Executive of Broome County, New York on April 21, 2011, filling the vacancy created by the resignation of Barbara J. Fiala.. Pat was endorsed by the Broome County Democratic Committee in February 2011. He was defeated in a special election on November 8, 2011 by...
and Paddy Agnew. He remained editor of Magill until 1983, when he became involved in the relaunch of the Sunday Tribune
Sunday Tribune
The Sunday Tribune was an Irish Sunday broadsheet newspaper published by Tribune Newspapers plc. It was edited in its final years by Nóirín Hegarty, who changed both the tone and the physical format of the newspaper from broadsheet to tabloid. Former editors include Conor Brady, Vincent Browne,...
with Tony Ryan
Tony Ryan
Thomas Anthony "Tony" Ryan was an Irish multi-millionaire, philanthropist and businessman.He was a founder of Guinness Peat Aviation as well as co-founder of Ryanair with Christy Ryan and Liam Lonergan...
, then of GPA
Guinness Peat Aviation
Guinness Peat Aviation was a Commercial Aircraft Sales and Leasing company set up in 1975 by Aer Lingus, the Guinness Peat Group and Tony Ryan, then an Aer Lingus executive.-History:...
and later of Ryanair
Ryanair
Ryanair is an Irish low-cost airline. Its head office is at Dublin Airport and its primary operational bases at Dublin Airport and London Stansted Airport....
. A series of articles he published in Magill highlighting the links between the Workers' Party of Ireland
Workers' Party of Ireland
The Workers' Party is a left-wing republican political party in Ireland. Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970 after a split within the party, adopting its current name in 1982....
and the Official IRA
Official IRA
The Official Irish Republican Army or Official IRA is an Irish republican paramilitary group whose goal was to create a "32-county workers' republic" in Ireland. It emerged from a split in the Irish Republican Army in December 1969, shortly after the beginning of "The Troubles"...
in the 1980s caused him and other journalists to receive death threats. After the publication of "The Lost Revolution: the Story of the Official IRA
Official IRA
The Official Irish Republican Army or Official IRA is an Irish republican paramilitary group whose goal was to create a "32-county workers' republic" in Ireland. It emerged from a split in the Irish Republican Army in December 1969, shortly after the beginning of "The Troubles"...
and the Workers' Party
Workers' Party of Ireland
The Workers' Party is a left-wing republican political party in Ireland. Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970 after a split within the party, adopting its current name in 1982....
" it was revealed that the Official IRA
Official IRA
The Official Irish Republican Army or Official IRA is an Irish republican paramilitary group whose goal was to create a "32-county workers' republic" in Ireland. It emerged from a split in the Irish Republican Army in December 1969, shortly after the beginning of "The Troubles"...
had planned to assassinate him by planting a bomb on his boat, but the operation was called off at the last minute. He was editor of the Sunday Tribune until 1994. He has written a weekly column for The Irish Times since then, and since 2000, has written weekly for The Sunday Business Post. He started broadcasting on RTÉ radio in 1996.
In 1997, he relaunched Magill magazine, which had ceased publication in 1990. In the 13 issues he published then, the magazine broke several major stories. One led to the establishment of the Planning Tribunal, originally chaired by Mr Justice Fergus Flood; another caused a committee of the Oireachtas
Oireachtas
The Oireachtas , sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the "national parliament" or legislature of Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of:*The President of Ireland*The two Houses of the Oireachtas :**Dáil Éireann...
to examine the DIRT
Deposit Interest Retention Tax
Deposit Interest Retention Tax is a form of tax on interest earned on bank accounts in Republic of Ireland that was first introduced in the 1980s. In Ireland, income from any source is reckonable for taxation purposes...
scandal; another caused an investigation of insurance "churning" by Irish Life, a leading Irish insurance company. He sold the Magill title to Hosen publisher, Mike Hogan, in November 1998. He was called to the Irish Bar
Call to the bar
The Call to the Bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party, and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received a "call to the bar"...
in 1997 and for a while practised as a barrister. Now he practises part time.
In October 2004, he launched a current affairs magazine, Village
Village (magazine)
Village is an Irish current affairs magazine founded by Vincent Browne. It was launched in October 2004 and was published weekly. In January 2007, it was announced that Village Magazine would be published monthly...
, of which he was editor. Village ceased publication in August 2008 before being re-launched under a new editor, Michael Smith. Browne now writes a column for Village magazine.
He was involved in a controversy over the tapping of his telephone by the Irish state from February 1975 to February 1983. When this was disclosed by former minister for justice Seán Doherty, Browne sued the State. He made a settlement with the State in 1997 which included an agreement to publish a statement on the settlement, stating, inter alia, that the State had intercepted his telephone conversations for reasons of State security — Browne had written much about the IRA in the early- to mid-1970s — while accepting that Browne had himself never been involved in subversion or crime. On being given access to the transcripts of 81, Browne claimed that it was apparent the motivation for the interception of his telephone conversations for the eight-year period had little to do with the security of the State — it was aimed at garnering information on his work as a journalist, entirely aside from his reporting of the IRA. Browne sought to have the agreement altered to permit a public acknowledgement that the intercepts were not done for security reasons. The Fine Gael
Fine Gael
Fine Gael is a centre-right to centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland. It is the single largest party in Ireland in the Oireachtas, in local government, and in terms of Members of the European Parliament. The party has a membership of over 35,000...
–Labour
Labour Party (Ireland)
The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in the Republic of Ireland. The Labour Party was founded in 1912 in Clonmel, County Tipperary, by James Connolly, James Larkin and William X. O'Brien as the political wing of the Irish Trade Union Congress. Unlike the other main Irish...
coalition government refused. He subsequently disclosed this himself on television and later in print.
For ten years he presented the programme Tonight with Vincent Browne on RTÉ Radio 1
RTÉ Radio 1
RTÉ Radio 1 is the principal radio channel of Irish public-service broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann and is the direct descendant of Dublin radio station 2RN, which began broadcasting on a regular basis on 1 January 1926...
. In August 2000, he substituted for John Bowman on the RTÉ television
RTÉ Television
RTÉ Television is a department of Ireland's state broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann.The first channel to broadcast was Telefís Éireann which began broadcasting on 31 December 1961...
programme Questions and Answers. He also presented Prime Time
Prime Time
Prime Time is an Irish news analysis, current affairs and politics programme. It is broadcast on RTÉ One on Tuesday and Thursday nights between 21:30 and 22:10. It is currently presented by Miriam O'Callaghan, who has presented the programme since its commencement in 1996...
on RTÉ One
RTÉ One
RTÉ One is the flagship television channel of Raidió Teilifís Éireann , and it is the most popular and most watched television channel in Ireland. It was launched as Telefís Éireann on 31 December 1961, it was renamed RTÉ Television in 1966, and it was renamed as RTÉ One upon the launch of RTÉ...
.
Since 14 January 2007, he has presented Tonight with Vincent Browne
Tonight with Vincent Browne
Tonight with Vincent Browne, formerly Nightly News with Vincent Browne, is an Irish news analysis, current affairs and politics programme. It is broadcast on TV3 on Monday to Thursday nights 23:05 to 23:55. It is presented by the journalist Vincent Browne, noted for his rather acerbic style of...
, a nightly current affairs television show on TV3. Despite airing on what is usually considered a graveyard slot
Graveyard slot
A graveyard slot is a time period in which a television audience is very small compared to other times of the day, and therefore broadcast programming is considered far less important. Graveyard slots are usually in the early morning hours of each day, when most people are asleep...
, the show has been highly successful drawing an average 166,000 viewers.
Politics
Browne was involved with the Dublin Anti H-Block MovementAnti H-Block
Anti H-Block was the political label used in 1981 by supporters of the Irish republican hunger strike who were standing for election in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland...
during the 1981 Irish hunger strike
1981 Irish hunger strike
The 1981 Irish hunger strike was the culmination of a five-year protest during The Troubles by Irish republican prisoners in Northern Ireland. The protest began as the blanket protest in 1976, when the British government withdrew Special Category Status for convicted paramilitary prisoners...
. In 1994, he sought a nomination for the Fine Gael
Fine Gael
Fine Gael is a centre-right to centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland. It is the single largest party in Ireland in the Oireachtas, in local government, and in terms of Members of the European Parliament. The party has a membership of over 35,000...
party in that year's European elections or the possible general election of that year (it was thought a general election might follow the collapse of the Albert Reynolds
Albert Reynolds
Albert Reynolds , served as Taoiseach of Ireland, serving one term in office from 1992 until 1994. He has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize...
' government). He was rebuffed by the leader of Fine Gael and future Taoiseach
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government or prime minister of Ireland. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas , and must, in order to remain in office, retain the support of a majority in the Dáil.The current Taoiseach is...
, John Bruton
John Bruton
John Gerard Bruton is an Irish politician who served as Taoiseach of Ireland from 1994 to 1997. A minister under two taoisigh, Liam Cosgrave and Garret FitzGerald, Bruton held a number of the top posts in Irish government, including Minister for Finance , and Minister for Industry, Trade,...
. He became a vocal critic of the party.
A staunch critic of Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny
Enda Kenny
Enda Kenny is an Irish Fine Gael politician, and has been the Taoiseach since 2011. He has led Fine Gael since 2002. He served as Minister for Tourism and Trade from 1994 to 1997. He is also a two-term Vice President of the European People's Party.Kenny has been a Teachta Dála for Mayo since...
, in 1982 Browne appeared on The Late Late Show to discuss the effectiveness of TDs
Teachta Dála
A Teachta Dála , usually abbreviated as TD in English, is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas . It is the equivalent of terms such as "Member of Parliament" or "deputy" used in other states. The official translation of the term is "Deputy to the Dáil", though a more literal...
where he poured scorn on Kenny, claiming he was "purporting" to be a TD. In October 2010, he was forced to make a public apology to Kenny after jokingly asking whether Fine Gael was requesting that he go into a dark room with a gun and bottle of whiskey. This was in reference to Fine Gael's position in the polls, where they were in second place to Labour, and a previous leadership challenge to Kenny by Richard Bruton
Richard Bruton
Richard Bruton is an Irish Fine Gael politician and has been a Teachta Dála for the Dublin North Central constituency since 1982. He was appointed as Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation on 9 March 2011...
. Kenny refused to appear on the leaders' debate hosted by Browne on TV3 during the 2011 general election campaign.
Personal life
Browne is married to Jean and has two daughters; Emma (who is a qualified barrister also) and Julia. He sold his home in DalkeyDalkey
Dalkey is suburb of Dublin and seaside resort in Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County, Ireland. It was founded as a Viking settlement and became an important port during the Middle Ages. According to John Clyn, it was one of the ports through which the plague entered Ireland in the mid-14th century...
in June 2011 to pay off debts incurred from the establishment of Village magazine, and to provide a pension.