Avril Doyle (; born 18 April 1949) 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

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In ...

from 1986 to 1987 and from 1995 to 1997. She served as a

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

(MEP) from 1999 to 2004 and 2004 to 2009, 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

Wexford Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 ...

constituency from 1982 to 1989 and 1992 to 1997 and a Senator for 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 ...

from 1989 to 1992 and 1997 to 2002.

Early life

Doyle was born in

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 ...

in 1949; she was educated at

Holy Child Killiney Holy Child Killiney is a voluntary fee-paying Catholic secondary school under the direction of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus in Killiney, a suburban village in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland. The school was opened in September 1947, ...

secondary school and at

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 member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 33,284 student ...

(UCD). Her father Richard Belton was a Senator and her grandfather Patrick Belton was a TD. She was born on the day

The Republic of Ireland Act 1948 The Republic of Ireland Act 1948 (No. 22 of 1948) is an Act of the Oireachtas which declared that the description of Ireland was to be the Republic of Ireland, and vested in the president of Ireland the power to exercise the executive authority ...

came into effect – which saw the inauguration of

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 ...

as a republic outside the

British Commonwealth The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...

Political career

In 1974, aged 25, she was elected to Wexford County Council and to Wexford Corporation; she was Mayor of

Wexford town Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 ...

from 1975 to 1976. She was first elected to Dáil Éireann at the November 1982 general election as a Fine Gael TD for the

constituency. In February 1986, she was appointed on the nomination of Garret FitzGerald as

Minister of State at the Department of Finance The Minister of State at the Department of Finance is a junior ministerial post in the Department of Finance of the Government of Ireland. A Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed u ...

with special responsibility for the

Office of Public Works The Office of Public Works (OPW) ( ga, Oifig na nOibreacha Poiblí) (legally the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland) is a major Irish Government agency, which manages most of the Irish State's property portfolio, including hundreds of o ...

, and at the Department of the Environment with special responsibility for Environmental Protection. She lost her seat at the 1989 general election, serving as a member of

Seanad Éireann Seanad Éireann (, ; "Senate of Ireland") is the upper house of the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann (the lower house). It is commonly called the Seanad or Senate and its memb ...

from 1989 to 1992. She was re-elected to the Dáil at the 1992 general election. In January 1995, she was appointed on the nomination of

John Bruton John Gerard Bruton (born 18 May 1947) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 1994 to 1997, Ambassador of the European Union to the United States from 2004 to 2009, Leader of Fine Gael from 1990 to 2001, Leader o ...

Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach The Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach is a junior ministerial post in the Department of the Taoiseach of the Government of Ireland who performs duties and functions delegated by the Taoiseach. The position was first created ...

, at the Department of Finance and at the Department of Transport, Energy and Communications with responsibility for consumers of public services. At the 1997 general election, she lost to party colleague Michael D'Arcy, and was again elected to the Seanad, serving from 1997 to 2002. She was elected as an MEP at the 1999 election and re-elected at the 2004 election. Doyle made news during a debate in the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

in June 2008 after the rejection of the

Treaty of Lisbon The Treaty of Lisbon (initially known as the Reform Treaty) is an international agreement that amends the two treaties which form the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU). The Treaty of Lisbon, which was signed by the EU member s ...

by Irish voters. A group of British Eurosceptic MEPs wore green hats and T-shirts, encouraging the EU to respect the Irish 'no' vote. However, many Irish MEPs saw this as self-serving and felt that there would be no Eurosceptic support for Irish opinion had the treaty been accepted; and Doyle was both lauded and criticised for the following comment, which is a reference to the forceful occupation of Ireland by Britain; "How the history books could have been written differently, if respect for the Irish vote from some of our British colleagues was always there." On 7 January 2009, she announced that she would not seek re-election to the European Parliament at the 2009 election. On 21 June 2011, she announced her intention to seek the Fine Gael party nomination for the 2011 presidential election. She withdrew from the nomination process in October 2011.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Doyle, Avril 1949 births Living people Alumni of University College Dublin Fine Gael MEPs Fine Gael TDs Fine Gael senators Local councillors in County Wexford MEPs for the Republic of Ireland 1999–2004 MEPs for the Republic of Ireland 2004–2009 20th-century women MEPs for the Republic of Ireland 21st-century women MEPs for the Republic of Ireland Members of the 19th Seanad Members of the 21st Seanad 20th-century women members of Seanad Éireann 21st-century women members of Seanad Éireann Members of the 24th Dáil Members of the 25th Dáil Members of the 27th Dáil 20th-century women Teachtaí Dála Ministers of State of the 24th Dáil Ministers of State of the 27th Dáil Politicians from County Dublin Women ministers of state of the Republic of Ireland Belton family People educated at Holy Child Killiney

Early life

Political career

See also

References

External links