Eibhlin Byrne is a former
Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christia ...
politician who served as
Lord Mayor of Dublin
The Lord Mayor of Dublin ( ga, Ardmhéara Bhaile Átha Cliath) is the honorary title of the chairperson ( ga, Cathaoirleach, links=no ) of Dublin City Council which is the local government body for the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. Th ...
from 2008 to 2009.
Byrne has held a number of senior positions including (current) Acting Director of the Daughters of Charity Child and Family Service, Head of Communication and Advocacy at Depaul Trust (Homeless Service) (2003–2006), and Chair of the National Council on Ageing and Older People.
[
] She has also worked as a volunteer with the SATU (Sexual Assault Treatment Unit) team from Dublin Rape Crisis Centre. She became Chairperson of Dublin Rape Crisis Centre in 2010.
Byrne began her career as a secondary school teacher and also ran language programmes between Irish students and young people in France, Germany, Spain and Italy.
She was a member of the
Dublin City Council
Dublin City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach Bhaile Átha Cliath) is the authority responsible for local government in the city of Dublin in Ireland. As a city council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. Until 2001, the council was ...
for the
Clontarf area from 2003–09 when she was co-opted to replace Sandra Geraghty. She was re-elected in June 2004 for a five-year term.
[
] She was elected as Lord Mayor in 2008 by Fianna Fáil councillors with the support of councillors from the
Labour Party,
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur G ...
and several Independents. Byrne was previously a member of the City Council's Housing Strategic Policy Group, the
Dublin Regional Authority, and the Dublin Bay Task Force. She was also a member of Commissions on Crime and on Ageing in the City.
On 15 April 2009, Byrne was nominated as a Fianna Fáil candidate (along with
Eoin Ryan) for the
Dublin constituency at the
2009 European Parliament election which was held on 5 June 2009 but she was not elected. Byrne did not stand for re-election to Dublin City Council. She resigned from Fianna Fáil in 2011. She continued to work for community regeneration as Chairperson of Fatima Regeneration Board. She also served as a board member of Holocaust Education Board, promoting anti-racism and the learning of lessons from World War II.
In a personal capacity until 2009 Byrne was a board member of Console. She was chairperson of the visiting committee for
Dóchas Centre
The Dóchas Centre (Irish: ''lárionad le Dóchas'') is a closed, medium security prison, for females aged 18 years and over, located in Mountjoy Prison in Dublin, Ireland. It is also the committal prison for females committed on remand or sente ...
women's prison, at Mountjoy, Dublin, until her term ended in 2011. She continued to promote a more socially and family productive approach to the imprisonment of women.
In 2009, Byrne drew criticism when she suggested it was "unpatriotic" for the Republic's citizens to go shopping in
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
. Her comments were denounced as "
partitionist" by Sinn Féin's
Martin McGuinness
James Martin Pacelli McGuinness ( ga, Séamus Máirtín Pacelli Mag Aonghusa; 23 May 1950 – 21 March 2017) was an Irish republican politician and statesman from Sinn Féin and a leader within the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) during ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Byrne, Eibhlin
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
Fianna Fáil politicians
Lord Mayors of Dublin
Women mayors of places in Ireland
Irish schoolteachers
Alumni of University College Dublin