Rhonda Paisley (born 1960) is an author and former politician from

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 ...

. She is the second daughter of the late

Democratic Unionist Party The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a unionist, loyalist, and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley, who led the party for the next 37 years. Currently led by J ...

(DUP) leader and Northern Ireland's former First Minister

Ian Paisley Ian Richard Kyle Paisley, Baron Bannside, (6 April 1926 – 12 September 2014) was a Northern Irish loyalist politician and Protestant religious leader who served as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from 1971 to 2008 and First ...

and lives with her mother in the family home. She attended

Bob Jones University , motto_lang = Latin , mottoeng = We seek, we trust , top_free_label = , top_free = , type = Private university , established = , closed = , f ...

in the United States (the same institution from which her father received his

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

), where she was awarded a BA in

Fine Art In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork ...

Political career

Paisley served as a Belfast City councillor for the DUP. Sammy Wilson named her as Lady Mayoress during his tenure as first DUP

Lord Mayor of Belfast The Lord Mayor of Belfast is the leader and chairperson of Belfast City Council, elected annually from and by the City's 60 Councillors#UnitedKingdom, councillors. The Lord Mayor also serves as the representative of the city of Belfast, welcomin ...

in 1986/87. She served eight years as a councillor before leaving politics, later claiming that "the game plan of politics frustrated me".

Media career

Paisley once guest-presented '' Saturday Live'', a TV

chat-show A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show ...

on the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

RTÉ One RTÉ One ( ga, RTÉ a hAon) is an Irish free-to-air flagship television channel owned and operated by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). It is the most-popular and most-watched television channel in the country and was launched as ''Telefís � ...

channel. Her father was one of her guests.

Controversy

The day after a series of "

Ulster Freedom Fighters The Ulster Defence Association (UDA) is an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed in September 1971 as an umbrella group for various loyalist groups and undertook an armed campaign of almost 24 years as one of t ...

" (UFF) incendiary bombings on shops in the Republic of Ireland during July 1991, Paisley claimed the bombings had been "perfectly understandable" given the "betrayal" of Northern Ireland by the British government. A serving DUP councillor at the time, Paisley was widely condemned in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Legal action

Paisley took a case to a Fair Employment Tribunal in 1998. The case was against the

Arts Council of Northern Ireland The Arts Council of Northern Ireland (Irish: ''Comhairle Ealaíon Thuaisceart Éireann'', Ulster-Scots: ''Airts Cooncil o Norlin Airlan'') is the lead development agency for the arts in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1964, as a successor to ...

, in which she alleged

religious discrimination Religious discrimination is treating a person or group differently because of the particular beliefs which they hold about a religion. This includes instances when adherents of different religions, denominations or non-religions are treated u ...

. She was awarded £24,249. It was ruled that she had been discriminated against on account of her religious beliefs and political opinions when applying for the post of an arts co-operation officer in 1995. She is a long-standing member of the

Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster :''Distinct from Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland and Free Church of Scotland (post 1900)'' The Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster ( ga, Eaglais Phreispitéireach Saor Uladh) is a Calvinist denomination founded by Ian Paisley in 1951. Doctr ...

, which her father established. In March 2005 Paisley took a legal action alleging

gender discrimination Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers primaril ...

against the DUP, which named her father, Ian Paisley, after she failed in her application for a post in the policy and communications unit in the DUP. The case was settled out of court, and Paisley received an apology from the party.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paisley, Rhonda Living people Artists from Northern Ireland Women writers from Northern Ireland Democratic Unionist Party councillors Members of Belfast City Council 1960 births Bob Jones University alumni Daughters of life peers 20th-century politicians from Northern Ireland Women councillors in Northern Ireland