Liz O'Donnell (born 1 July 1956) is an Irish former

Progressive Democrats The Progressive Democrats (, literally "The Democratic Party"), commonly referred to as the PDs, were a conservative liberal political party in Ireland. The party's history spanned 24 years, from its formation in 1985 to its dissolution in 20 ...

politician, who represented Dublin South as a

Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( ; ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish language, Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The official Engli ...

(TD) from 1992 to 2007.

Early and personal life

O'Donnell was born in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

in 1956, where her father worked for

Guinness Guinness () is a stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at Guinness Brewery, St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in the 18th century. It is now owned by the British-based Multinational corporation, multinational alcoholic bever ...

. She moved with her family to

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

when she was 11. She was educated at the Salesian Convent,

, and

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

, where she was an honours graduate of the Law School in 1981. Prior to embarking on a political career, O'Donnell was a Vice Chair of the Women's Political Association and a delegate to the National Women's Council. O'Donnell is divorced and has 2 children.

Political career

In 1991, she was elected to

Dublin City Council Dublin City Council () is the Local government in the Republic of Ireland, local authority of the city of Dublin in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. As a city council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. Until 2001, the authority was k ...

for the

Rathmines Rathmines (; ) is an inner suburb on the Southside (Dublin), Southside of Dublin in Ireland. It begins at the southern side of the Grand Canal of Ireland, Grand Canal and stretches along the Rathmines Road as far as Rathgar to the south, Ranela ...

local electoral area A local electoral area (LEA; ) is an electoral area for elections to Local government in the Republic of Ireland, local authorities in Ireland. All elections in the Republic of Ireland, elections use the single transferable vote. Republic of Ir ...

. She served on the council until 1994. At the 1992 general election, she was elected to

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( ; , ) is the lower house and principal chamber of the Oireachtas, which also includes the president of Ireland and a senate called Seanad Éireann.Article 15.1.2° of the Constitution of Ireland reads: "The Oireachtas shall co ...

for the Progressive Democrats, representing Dublin South. She was opposition spokesperson on Health and Social Welfare from 1992 to 1993. She was Party whip and Justice spokesperson from 1993 to 1997. Following her return to the

28th Dáil The 28th Dáil was elected at the 1997 Irish general election, 1997 general election on 6 June 1997 and met on 26 June 1997. The members of Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas (legislature) of Republic of Ireland, Ire ...

at the 1997 general election, she negotiated the Programme for the Coalition Government between

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil ( ; ; meaning "Soldiers of Destiny" or "Warriors of Fál"), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party (), is a centre to centre-right political party in Ireland. Founded as a republican party in 1926 by Éamon de ...

and the Progressive Democrats, along with her party colleague

Minister of State Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...

Bobby Molloy. O'Donnell was appointed

at the Department of Foreign Affairs with responsibility for Overseas Development Assistance and Human Rights. She was among the representatives of the Irish Government at the multi-party talks at Stormont, which culminated in the

Good Friday Agreement The Good Friday Agreement (GFA) or Belfast Agreement ( or ; or ) is a pair of agreements signed on 10 April (Good Friday) 1998 that ended most of the violence of the Troubles, an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland since the la ...

in 1998. She was also a member of the Cabinet sub-committee on Asylum Immigration and related matters. Following the resignation of Bobby Molloy she was appointed Minister of State to the Government in April 2002. She was re-elected to the

29th Dáil The 29th Dáil was elected at the 2002 Irish general election, 2002 general election on 17 May 2002 and met on 6 June 2002. The members of Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas (legislature) of Republic of Ireland, Irel ...

at the 2002 general election as TD for Dublin South. In December 2002, she was awarded the Doolin Memorial Medal for her contribution to Overseas Development and Human Rights. She was the Deputy Leader of the Progressive Democrats from 2006 to 2007. She lost her seat at the 2007 general election. Since leaving public office, she has worked in the media and in public affairs consultancy. O'Donnell was chairperson of the

Road Safety Authority The Road Safety Authority (RSA; ) is a state agency of the Irish Government to promote road safety within Ireland. The agency has functions devolved from the Department of Transport. History and Governance The Road Safety Authority was establ ...

from 2015 to 2024 and has been chair of the Irish Emergency Alliance since 2023. She also sits on the board of Chernobyl Children International.https://www.chernobyl-international.com/about-us/

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Odonnell, Liz 1956 births Living people Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Members of Dublin City Council Members of the 27th Dáil Members of the 28th Dáil Members of the 29th Dáil 20th-century women Teachtaí Dála 21st-century women Teachtaí Dála Ministers of State of the 28th Dáil Politicians from County Dublin Progressive Democrats TDs Women ministers of state of the Republic of Ireland Progressive Democrats local councillors