Olwyn Enright (born 1 July 1974) is a former Irish

Fine Gael Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil � ...

politician who served as a

Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( , ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas (the Irish Parliament). It is the equivalent of terms such as ''Member of Parli ...

(TD) for the Laois–Offaly constituency from 2002 to 2011.

Early life and education

Born in

Birr, County Offaly Birr (; ga, Biorra, meaning "plain of water") is a town in County Offaly, Ireland. Between 1620 and 1899 it was called Parsonstown, after the Parsons family who were local landowners and hereditary Earls of Rosse. Birr is a designated Iris ...

, she is the daughter of

Tom Enright Thomas W. Enright (born 26 July 1940) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Laois–Offaly constituency from 1969 to 1992 and 1997 to 2002. He also served as a Senator for the Administrative Panel fr ...

, who served as a Fine Gael TD and Senator for over thirty years until his retirement in 2002. She was educated in St. Brendan's Community School, Birr, and

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Civil Law degree in 1995. She attended the

Law Society of Ireland The Law Society of Ireland ( ga, Dlí-Chumann na hÉireann) is a professional body established on 24 June 1830 and is the educational, representative and regulatory body of the solicitors' profession in Ireland. As of 2020, the Law Society had ...

in Blackhall Place, Dublin, qualifying as a solicitor in 1999.

Political career

Enright served on

Offaly County Council Offaly County Council ( ga, Comhairle Chontae Uíbh Fhailí) is the authority responsible for local government in County Offaly, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housi ...

between 1999 and 2002. She was first elected to

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( , ; ) is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature), which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann (the upper house).Article 15.1.2º of the Constitution of Ireland read ...

at the 2002 general election, becoming the first female TD to represent the Laois–Offaly constituency. Within her first few weeks in the Dáil she was appointed Fine Gael Spokesperson for Education and Science. In July 2005, Enright married

Joe McHugh Joe McHugh (born 16 July 1971) is an Irish Fine Gael politician who has served as Chair of the Committee on European Union Affairs since September 2020. He has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Donegal constituency since 2016, and previously f ...

, who was then a

Senator. In the 2007 general election, McHugh was elected to the Dáil to represent the Donegal North-East constituency. Enright retained her seat in Laois–Offaly, making them the third married couple to be elected to sit in the same Dáil. Enright served as party Spokesperson on Social and Family Affairs from 2007 to 2010. In June 2010, she supported

Richard Bruton Richard Bruton (born 15 March 1953) is an Irish Fine Gael politician who has served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for Dublin Bay North since 2016, and previously from 1982 to 2016 for the Dublin North-Central constituency. He is the Chairman of th ...

's leadership challenge to

Enda Kenny Enda Kenny (born 24 April 1951) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 2011 to 2017, Leader of Fine Gael from 2002 to 2017, Minister for Defence from May to July 2014 and 2016 to 2017, Leader of the Opposition from ...

. Following Kenny's victory in a motion of confidence, Enright was not reappointed to the front bench.

Retirement from politics

On 30 August 2010, while pregnant with her second child, Enright announced that she would not seek to retain her seat at the next election, citing pressures of juggling her family life and career. After 9 years of service, she retired with a once off lump sum payment of €129,800 and an annual pension of €22,542.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Enright, Olwyn 1974 births Living people Alumni of University College Dublin Fine Gael TDs Local councillors in County Offaly Irish solicitors Members of the 29th Dáil Members of the 30th Dáil 21st-century women Teachtaí Dála People from Birr, County Offaly Spouses of Irish politicians Young Fine Gael

Early life and education

Political career

Retirement from politics

See also

References