Carol Nolan (born 23 May 1978) is an Irish

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

politician who has been 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 since the 2020 general election, and previously from 2016 to 2020 for the

Offaly County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in h ...

constituency.

Early and personal life

Nolan was born in

Tullamore Tullamore (; ) is the county town of County Offaly in Ireland. It is on the Grand Canal, in the middle of the county, and is the fourth most populous town in the midlands region with 14,607 inhabitants at the 2016 census. The town retained ...

in 1978, but she is a native of

Cadamstown Cadamstown, historically called ''Ballymacadam'' (),Placenames Database of Ireland
(see archival records) is ...

, County Offaly. Nolan was educated at

Mary Immaculate College Mary Immaculate College (Coláiste Mhuire gan Smál), also known as MIC and Mary I, is a College of Education and Liberal Arts. Founded in 1898, the university level College of Education and the Liberal Arts is academically linked with the Univ ...

and

NUI Galway The University of Galway ( ga, Ollscoil na Gaillimhe) is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. A tertiary education and research institution, the university was awarded the full five QS stars for excellence in 201 ...

. She was a primary school teacher for 12 years. Nolan was also principal of Gaelscoil Thromaire in County Laois for three years.

Political career

Before becoming a TD, she was a Sinn Féin member of

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 ...

from 2014 to 2016, for the Birr local electoral ward. In March 2018, she was suspended from Sinn Féin for three months for voting against legislation to allow for a referendum on the repeal of the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution, support for which had been adopted at the party's Ard Fheis. She endorsed the Cherish all the Children Equally campaign which advocated for a No vote in the 2018 abortion referendum. She campaigned for the Love Both campaign which also advocated for a No vote in the referendum. She resigned from Sinn Féin on 19 June 2018, over the party's stance on abortion, saying "“I won’t be supporting the legislation as my position remains the same, as a

pro-life Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respon ...

TD who is strongly opposed to abortion". She was re-elected as an Independent TD for the Laois–Offaly constituency following the 2020 general election. Nolan is a member of the Rural Group of Independent TDs in the 33rd Dail.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nolan, Carol 1978 births Living people Alumni of Mary Immaculate College, Limerick Alumni of the University of Galway Independent TDs Irish anti-abortion activists Irish schoolteachers Local councillors in County Offaly Members of the 32nd Dáil Members of the 33rd Dáil People from Birr, County Offaly Sinn Féin TDs (post-1923) 21st-century women Teachtaí Dála Women heads of schools in Ireland