Brenda Power (born 1962) is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

journalist, barrister and a radio and television broadcaster on Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) and

Newstalk Newstalk (formerly NewsTalk 106) is a national independent radio station in Ireland. It is operated by News 106 Limited, a subsidiary of Bauer Media Audio Ireland, and broadcasts under a sound broadcasting contract with the Broadcasting Aut ...

Career

Power is a former presenter of ''

Crimecall ''Crimecall'' is a television show broadcast once monthly on RTÉ. It is co-produced in Dublin, Ireland by Green Ink Ltd and 360 Production South Ltd. Since January 2018, the show is presented by Sharon Ní Bheoláin. It is a second RTÉ adapta ...

''. Prior to this, she filled in for

Marian Finucane Marian Finucane ( ; 21 May 1950 – 2 January 2020) was an Irish broadcaster with Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). She began working with the national broadcaster in 1974, starting as a continuity announcer. She was the first presenter of '' ...

and

Joe Duffy Joseph Duffy (born 27 January 1956) is an Irish broadcaster employed by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). One of RTÉ's highest-earning stars, he is the current presenter of ''Liveline'', an interview and phone-in chat show broadcast on R ...

on their respective radio shows. Power worked as a presenter/reporter on '' Would You Believe'', on RTE 1 TV. She has also featured as a panelist in TV3's ''

Midday Noon (or midday) is 12 o'clock in the daytime. It is written as 12 noon, 12:00 m. (for meridiem, literally 12:00 noon), 12 p.m. (for post meridiem, literally "after noon"), 12 pm, or 12:00 (using a 24-hour clock) or 1200 (military time). Solar ...

'' Programme and RTE's ''Cutting Edge'' panel show. She also presented her own radio shows, including the phone-in programme ''Your Call'' on

, and had worked for RTÉ since 2000, also presented her own show ''The Brenda Power Show'' on RTE Radio 1. During the summer of 2006, Power stood in for

George Hook George Hook (born 19 May 1941) is an Irish broadcaster, journalist and rugby union pundit. He formerly hosted ''The Right Hook'' and ''High Noon'' on the Irish radio station Newstalk. He had a career as a rugby union coach and businessman, be ...

on ''

The Right Hook ''The Right Hook'' was a late afternoon to early evening talk programme broadcast on the Dublin, Ireland-based national Newstalk commercial radio station, and hosted by George Hook. It was the first radio show in Ireland to broadcast the show e ...

'' on Newstalk. She has also worked for ''

The Irish Press ''The Irish Press'' (Irish: ''Scéala Éireann'') was an Irish national daily newspaper published by Irish Press plc between 5 September 1931 and 25 May 1995. Foundation The paper's first issue was published on the eve of the 1931 All-Ireland ...

'' group writing ''The People Column''. She wrote for Magill and ''Image'' Magazines, and as a columnist with

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, w ...

and the

Irish Daily Mail The ''Irish Daily Mail'' is a newspaper published in Ireland and :Northern Ireland by DMG Media (the parent company of the British ''Daily Mail''). The paper launched in February 2006 with a launch strategy that included giving away free copies ...

. In 1996, Power qualified as a barrister, specialising in Common Law. Power also works as a media and public relations consultant. In 2010 she published, ''The Noughties: From Glitz to Gloom'' (Collins), about Ireland from the

Celtic Tiger The "Celtic Tiger" ( ga, An Tíogar Ceilteach) is a term referring to the economy of Ireland from the mid-1990s to the late 2000s, a period of rapid real economic growth fuelled by foreign direct investment. The boom was dampened by a subseque ...

to crash and the Recession.

Views and controversy

Power has been known for her

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, conservative and often controversial viewpoints. For instance, she has written that '...all of the seven deadly sins have since been rebranded as lifestyle choices — envy is motivation, lust is polyamory, and sloth is me-time'. She has accused doctors allowing children under 16 access to abortion without their parent's consent of being guilty of assault. Regarding suicide, Power has argued 'failing to voice even the mildest social disapproval of suicide...we may be making it too easy for troubled people to escape themselves and their responsibilities'. Power has also voiced opposition to LGBT rights. She has opposed same-sex marriage, having campaigned against it in her Times Online column. She is highly critical of LGBT adoption (" I wouldn't like a child to be brought up by two men dressed all day in women's clothes, to be frank"), gay pride ("foolish and anachronistic"), and the Irish gay community, which she describes as "misogynistic". In addition, Power has compared gender dysphoria to eating disorders and other mental illnesses. She has stated her support for the 2020 High Court Ruling in the UK regarding puberty blockers. In 2015, she was criticised by Traveller advocacy group

Pavee Point Pavee Point (PP) is a government-funded non-governmental organisation based in Dublin, Ireland that was formed to improve the human rights of Irish Travellers and to bridge the economic and social inequalities between Travellers and settled peopl ...

and the

Irish Council for Civil Liberties The Irish Council for Civil Liberties ( ga, An Chomhairle um Chearta Daonna) is an Irish non-profit organisation dedicated to supporting the civil liberties and human rights of people in Ireland. History Founded in 1976 by future President Mary ...

for a column that accused Travellers of 'beating their own cousins in family rows' and 'torturing and murdering old folk and causing mayhem on school playgrounds'. Despite being interviewed by the Gardaí, the Irish Director of Public Prosecutions declined to pursue legal action, a result Power claimed was a victory for free speech. She went on to compare herself to Charlie Hebdo. Her views on Muslim immigration to Europe, which Power claims will reduce the freedoms of Western women, drew criticism from a number of prominent members of Ireland's Muslim community, including Dr.Umar Al-Qadri. Additionally she has voiced strong opposition to proposals aimed at accommodating Muslim students in primary and secondary schools

Personal life

Power is the eldest daughter of Patrick and Rose Power of Ballynooney,

Mullinavat Mullinavat () is a town in south County Kilkenny, Ireland. Its main industries are tourism and agriculture. It has a renowned sporting history, particularly in hurling. The town's name in Irish translates as 'The Mill of the Stick' which, accor ...

, Kilkenny. She is separated and has five children. Brenda won the A.T. Cross Young journalist of the year award in the early 1980s. Power is a graduate of the College of Commerce, Rathmines, with a diploma in journalism. While working as a journalist, Power studied at the King's Inns and was called to the bar in 1996.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Power, Brenda Living people Alumni of Dublin Institute of Technology Alumni of King's Inns Irish barristers Irish columnists Irish women lawyers LGBT adoption Newstalk presenters People from Kilkenny (city) RTÉ Radio 1 presenters RTÉ television presenters Irish women television presenters Irish women radio presenters Irish women columnists 1962 births People from Mullinavat Broadcasters from County Kilkenny