Anne Brolly

Who is Anne Brolly?

Anne Brolly is a Sinn Féin politician and councillor on Limavady Borough Council in Northern Ireland. She is the wife of MLA Francie Brolly and together they form a singing duo and write songs. Their son Joe Brolly is a Derry footballer and TV sports pundit.

In 2001, Brolly was elected as a councillor to Limavady Borough Council for the electoral area of Benbradagh. She topped the first preference votes with 1056, and her husband came in second with 917. He was also elected to the Council. The quota was 840.

In 2003, Brolly took over from George Robinson of the Democratic Unionist Party as the Mayor of Limavady. At Christmas 2003 she was asked to switch on the Christmas tree lights for Burnfoot. There was a small Loyalist protest during the switching-on of the lights because of the election of a Sinn Féin mayor. Afterwards, the tree was cut down by vandals and the lights smashed. On 14 June 2004 Councillor Brolly stood down as Mayor.

In October 2004, the High Court of Northern Ireland ordered the government to provide the Brolly couple with protection, following reports of threats from the Red Hand Defenders, a Loyalist paramilitary group.