Mannix Flynn facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Cllr
Gerard Mannix Flynn
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| Dublin City Councillor | |
| Assumed office 24 May 2009 |
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| Constituency | South East Inner City |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Gerard Mannix Flynn
4 May 1957 Dublin, Ireland |
| Political party | Independent |
Gerard Mannix Flynn (born 4 May 1957) is an Irish politician. He has been a Dublin City Councillor since May 2009. This means he helps make decisions for the city of Dublin. He is an Independent politician, which means he doesn't belong to a specific political party.
Besides his work as a city councillor, he is also a writer and a playwright. He wrote a novel called Nothing To Say in 1983. He also wrote a play called James X in 2002.
Contents
Early Life and Experiences
When Gerard Mannix Flynn was eleven years old, he was sent to St Joseph's Industrial School in Letterfrack. He stayed there for about eighteen months. He also spent time in other places like Marlborough House Detention Centre in Daingean, County Offaly, and St Patrick's Institution. These experiences shaped his views and later work.
Career Paths
Artist and Performer
Gerard Mannix Flynn is a talented artist. He published his novel, Nothing To Say, in 1983. This book was very popular and was translated into German, Italian, and Polish.
In 2004, a play he wrote, James X, won an important award called the Irish Times Theatre Award. An earlier version of this play, called 'Talking to the Wall', also won an award at the Edinburgh Fringe festival.
He has also acted in movies. Some of the films he appeared in include Cal, When the Sky Falls, and Excalibur. He worked as an actor for 20 years in places like Scotland, London, Austria, and Dublin.
Politician and City Councillor
Flynn first became a Dublin City Councillor in 2009. He was elected as an independent candidate. This means he ran for election without being part of a political party. He represented the South-East Inner City area. He was re-elected in 2014 for a different area called Pembroke-South Dock.
He has worked on several important issues in Dublin. For example, he suggested that the Temple Bar Cultural Trust should be directly controlled by Dublin City Council. This trust was set up to help improve the Temple Bar area. Later, reports showed that the trust needed to improve how it managed its money.
He has also shared his concerns about how public money was spent on a project to improve Grafton Street in Dublin.
Flynn supports stricter rules for people who play music loudly on public streets, known as busking. Because of his views on this, his office was damaged in February 2015. He has also been involved in discussions about cycle lanes. He has taken legal steps regarding the Strand Road cycle lane trial. He is a spokesperson for a group that does not agree with this cycle lane trial.
In 2015, he left the Dublin City Council Arts SPC (Strategic Policy Committee). He felt there wasn't a clear plan or vision for arts policy.
In 2016, he protested against the Artane Band. He did this because of the band's past connection to the Artane Industrial School. The band stated that it no longer had any links to the former school. Flynn's protest was peaceful. Some people thought his protest was just to get attention.
In 2019, Flynn took part in a protest march. This protest was against plans to open a large homeless shelter in his area. Protesters marched on Aungier Street, blocking traffic. In 2020, Flynn took further legal action against the council. He wanted to make sure the homeless facilities would not be built in that specific area.
He has also run for election to Dáil Éireann (the Irish parliament) several times. He ran in the 2011, 2016, and 2020 general elections, but he was not elected. He also ran in a special election in Dublin Bay South in 2021.
Land Without God Documentary
In 2019, Flynn released a documentary film called Land Without God. This film explores the challenges and difficulties that Flynn and his family faced. The documentary received a special mention for the Dublin Human Rights Film Award at the Dublin International Film Festival.
