Éilis O'Hanlon (born 1965) 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 ...

novelist and journalist. She writes for the '' Sunday Independent''. She co-authored, with her husband Ian McConnel, four novels under the pen name Ingrid Black. Her book, ''The Dead'', published in 2003, was honoured with the

Shamus Award The Shamus Award is awarded by the Private Eye Writers of America (PWA) for the best detective fiction ( P. I. = Private investigator) genre novels and short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one ...

for Best First PI Novel. O'Hanlon's work appears in '' The Field Day Anthology of Irish Women's Writing''.

Views

O'Hanlon is a longstanding opponent of Irish Republican views; In 2004 O'Hanlon was described as one of

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 ...

's 'sharpest critics' by

the Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

while in 2021 the Phoenix described O'Hanlon as "long a scourge of republicanism". O'Hanlon has written of her opposition to emigration from Ireland, frequently arguing that this has damaged and continues to damage the nation. In 2021 O'Hanlon wrote a series of articles in which she expressed her opposition to new hate crime laws being introduced in Ireland, claiming that "Pushing us to perceive hate where none exists is just toxic".

Views on transgender people

Since the 2010s, O’Hanlon has frequently written articles critical of

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through ...

people, healthcare, and related topics. In December 2021 O’Hanlon criticised the Rose of Tralee competition for its inclusivity of women who are transgender. In March 2022 O'Hanlon criticised the

National Women's Council of Ireland The National Women's Council of Ireland (NWCI) is a representative organisation for women and women's groups in Ireland. It was originally known as the Council for the Status of Women. Policies The mission of the NWCI is to achieve women's equa ...

for supporting transgender women. In July 2022 O’Hanlon implored readers not to "consent to propaganda disguised as sex education" and to reject "unscientific assertions" that children "can change sex" while in the same month O’Hanlon described people providing access to gender-affirming health care for transgender children as "extremists". In June 2022 O’Hanlon wrote an article titled "Women must be free to speak without fear of trans backlash", which alleged that transgender activists are using public money to radically reshape society behind the scenes while trying to silence dissent. In August 2022 O’Hanlon wrote an article titled "The future will condemn us for pandering to the trans agenda" which criticised Irish politicians and media figures for not condemning the

NHS Gender Identity Development Service The NHS Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) is a nationally operated health clinic specialising in working with children with gender identity issues, including gender dysphoria. Although based at a Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation ...

in the United Kingdom where many Irish children were sent, and compared it to incidents of child abuse by the Catholic Church in Ireland. Several publications and organisations in Ireland have criticised O'Hanlon's views on transgender people, including

Hot Press ''Hot Press'' is a fortnightly music and politics magazine based in Dublin, Ireland, founded in June 1977. The magazine has been edited since its inception by Niall Stokes. History ''Hot Press'' was founded in June 1977 by Niall Stokes, who co ...

, Gay Community News and

Transgender Equality Network of Ireland Transgender Equality Network of Ireland (TENI) is an Irish nonprofit organisation founded in 2006, which seeks to improve conditions and rights for transgender people and their families in Ireland. STAD: Stop Transphobia and Discrimination ...

. An article by Hot Press accused O'Hanlon of sharing "false information in an effort to spread fear and target hate towards the trans community" while The Transgender Equality Network of Ireland accused O'Hanlon of transphobia in an official statement.

Personal life

O'Hanlon is the daughter of Sam and Tess (née Cahill) O'Hanlon, and her uncle was the late

Joe Cahill , birth_date = , death_date = , birth_place = Belfast, Ireland , death_place = Belfast, Northern Ireland , image = Joe Cahill.png , caption = Cahill, early 1990s. , allegiance = Provisional Irish Republican ...

, a senior figure in the

Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various paramilitary organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dedicated to irredentism through Irish republicanism, the belief th ...

from the 1940s onwards. Her elder sister was the late

Provisional Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, facilitate Irish reu ...

member and

politician, Siobhán O'Hanlon and the Labour party senator Máiriá Cahill. The two sisters remained estranged at the time of Siobhán's death from

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a r ...

, due to Eilis's criticism of

Published works

* ''The Dead'',

Minotaur Books St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, in the Equitable Building. St. Martin's Press is considered one of the largest English-language publishers, bringing to the public some 700 titles a year under si ...

, 2004; * ''The Dark Eye'', Headline Paperbacks, 2004; * ''The Judas Heart'',

Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.1965 births 20th-century journalists from Northern Ireland Living people Journalists from Belfast Shamus Award winners Sunday Independent (Ireland) people Women novelists from Northern Ireland Date of birth missing (living people) Columnists from Northern Ireland 21st-century novelists from Northern Ireland 21st-century women writers from Northern Ireland Women journalists from Northern Ireland 21st-century journalists from Northern Ireland