Susan O'Keeffe (born 18 September 1960) 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 and former Labour Party politician.

Personal life

She was educated at

Mount Anville Secondary School Mount Anville Secondary School is a Roman Catholic, voluntary all-girls post-primary school in Goatstown, a suburb of Dublin, in Ireland (state), Ireland. It was originally an all-boarding school, but due to decreased demand for such schools has ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

, and at

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one ...

. She lives in

Collooney Collooney or Coloony () is a town in County Sligo, Ireland. Toponymy Collooney is thought to derive from . Reverend Terrence O'Rorke has previously also suggested ''Culmaine'', as Collooney is designated this way in such works as ''the annals ...

County Sligo County Sligo ( , gle, Contae Shligigh) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the Border Region and is part of the province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the an ...

with her husband and three children.

Journalism

O'Keeffe is a journalist by profession. In 1995, when working on ''

World in Action ''World in Action'' was a British investigative current affairs programme made by Granada Television for ITV from 7 January 1963 until 7 December 1998. Its campaigning journalism frequently had a major impact on events of the day. Its product ...

'', she was threatened with prison in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

for refusing to reveal her sources. She had investigated scandals within the Irish meat industry in two films in 1991. The investigation centred on the Goodman International group – involving tax fraud, misappropriation of beef and Larry Goodman's dealings with

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolutio ...

's Iraq, leading to the setting-up of a Tribunal of Inquiry, known as the Beef Tribunal, which found that much of her criticism of the industry was substantiated. However, the Tribunal demanded that she name her informants, and when she refused to do so, she was charged by the Director of Public Prosecutions. The case became a ''

cause célèbre A cause célèbre (,''Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged'', 12th Edition, 2014. S.v. "cause célèbre". Retrieved November 30, 2018 from https://www.thefreedictionary.com/cause+c%c3%a9l%c3%a8bre ,''Random House Kernerman Webs ...

'' in Ireland, and, in January 1995, she faced trial for contempt of court but was cleared of the charge. She was honoured in the 1994 Freedom of Information Awards for her stand.

Politics

She was an unsuccessful candidate at the 2011 general election for the Sligo–North Leitrim constituency, polling 4,553 first preference votes (10.2%). She was also a candidate in the 2009 European Parliament election for the North-West constituency. Her candidacy in the 2011 general election was not helped by the fact that three former members of the Labour Party stood against her. She was elected to the

24th Seanad This is a list of the members of the 24th Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the Oireachtas (legislature) of Ireland. These Senators were elected on 27 April 2011 after postal voting closed. The Taoiseach's nominees were announced on 20 May 20 ...

in April 2011 by the

Agricultural Panel The Agricultural Panel () is one of five vocational panels which together elect 43 of the 60 members of Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the Oireachtas (the legislature of Ireland). The Agricultural Panel elects eleven senators. Election Art ...

. She was appointed whip of the Labour Senators in the Seanad. In May 2012, it was reported that she had the worst voting record amongst Labour Party Senators. A motion of no confidence in her was tabled by Senator John Whelan, although later withdrawn. It was reported in ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'' that "Ms O’Keeffe is considered by her critics to be too close to the leadership and inclined to play along with the official Labour Party line of accepting Fine Gael's proposal to abolish the Upper House." At the 2016 general election, she unsuccessfully contested the Sligo–Leitrim constituency. She was not re-elected to the Seanad.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Okeeffe, Susan 1960 births Living people Alumni of University College Cork Irish women journalists Labour Party (Ireland) senators Members of the 24th Seanad 21st-century women members of Seanad Éireann Politicians from County Sligo