Irish lives

James 'Lugs' Branigan 1910-1986:JAMES Christopher Branigan was born January 6th, 1910, in the South Dublin Union, James Street, to John Alick Branigan, originally of Borrisokane, Co Tipperary, and Ellen Branigan (née Kavanagh) originally of Graiguenamanagh, Co Kilkenny.

Educated at Basin Lane Convent (1915-19) and James’s Street CBS (1919-24), he left school aged 14 to join Great Southern Railways as an apprentice fitter. He was bullied and sometimes beaten up in the railway yards, but never retaliated. He disliked his work and quit on finishing his apprenticeship in January 1931, joining the Garda Síochána in June 1931.

He qualified as a garda that December. Having only barely qualified on the required chest measurement, he took up weight training, rowing and boxing to fill out his slim 6ft 3in frame. He became a fitness fanatic, rising at 5am most days to train, and was a non-smoker and teetotaller.

Throughout the 1930s he fought in various police boxing contests. He fought at cruiser-weight, light heavyweight and heavyweight. His losses and victories were about equal. In 1936 he won the Leinster heavyweight title. He also boxed for the Irish international team.

During a bout in Germany in January 1938 he was knocked down nine times by a skilful opponent, but got to his feet each time. His courage won an ovation from the local crowd, which included Goering and Goebbels. He admired the Nazi emphasis on discipline and sport and, although he disagreed with Hitler's anti-semitism, he regarded him as "a great man" ( Evening Herald, January 24th, 1973).

He retired from the ring in 1939, becoming a well-known boxing referee. He also coached young boxers and promoted the sport.

In 1936 he was assigned to Newmarket station in the Coombe; he spent his entire career thereafter in the Kevin Street A district. Cycling throughout his beat, he learned to foresee trouble and prevent it. He used his local knowledge to forestall the activities of the notorious “animal gangs”, notably before the Battle of Baldoyle (1940) and the Battle of Tolka Park (1942), for which he was commended by Justice Martin Maguire.

He earned a reputation for dispensing rough justice on Dublin’s streets. Rather than charging petty offenders, he admitted that he usually gave them “a bit of a going-over” and sent them on their way.

In the 1940s a Dublin criminal dubbed him “Lugs” on account of his large ears. The nickname stuck, but Branigan hated it. He rarely used a baton, but wore a pair of leather gloves if trouble was likely. His mere presence, and the donning of the gloves, was often sufficient to calm tense situations.

In the late 1950s, Branigan was regarded as the man who tamed Dublin’s teddy boys. He often acted as an unofficial social worker, speaking up for young offenders in court, and trying to fix them up with jobs. He regularly sorted out domestic disputes. Many criminals had a grudging respect for him.

He was promoted to detective garda in July 1958, and was sometimes assigned as bodyguard to visiting celebrities, including Elizabeth Taylor, Cliff Richard and George Best. In December 1963 he was promoted to garda sergeant and given charge of a mobile “riot squad” to deal with violent crime and gang warfare. He remained on active duty with the riot squad until his retirement on January 6th, 1973. He received many tributes on his retirement, but the one that touched him most was a canteen of cutlery and set of Waterford glass from Dublin prostitutes.

He carried numerous scars from knives and bottles, and was once bitten on the rear while trying to subdue an offender by sitting on him. Although his outspokenness in court endeared him to the Dublin public and press, he believed that it was held against him by his superiors, and was one of the reasons he never progressed beyond sergeant.

He died on May 22nd, 1986, in the Adelaide Hospital, Dublin, and was buried in Summerhill. He married Elizabeth Armstrong in 1941; they had four children.

From the Royal Irish Academy’s Dictionary of Irish Biography. See dib.ie for more details