Mairéad Farrell (born 5 January 1990) is an Irish

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( ; ; ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The History of Sinn Féin, original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffit ...

politician who has been 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) for the Galway West constituency since the 2020 general election.

Early life and education

Mairéad Farrell is from the Mervue area in

Galway City Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

. Her father, Niall, is an anti-war activist and her aunt, also called Mairéad Farrell, was a member of the

Provisional Irish Republican Army The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA), officially known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA; ) and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary force that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland ...

who became one of the Gibraltar Three (three PIRA members killed by the British SAS in

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

). Farrell holds a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in Economics and History from

NUI Galway The University of Galway () is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. The university was founded in 1845 as "Queen's College, Galway". It was known as "University College, Galway" (UCG) () from 1908 to 1997 and as ...

and a

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

in Finance from

Queen's University Belfast The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of ...

Political career

Farrell sat on Sinn Féin's National Youth Committee for five years. She represented the Galway City East local electoral area on

Galway City Council Galway City Council () is the local authority of the city of Galway, Ireland. As a city council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing and community, roads and transportation, urban planning and ...

from 2014 to 2019. She became a TD for Galway West in February 2020 at that year's General Election. She is Sinn Féin's Spokesperson on Public Expenditure and Reform. She appeared on the ''

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

'' list of top 50 young people to watch in 2021 as well as one of 10 TDs making a name for themselves since the 2020 election in the ''

Irish Examiner The ''Irish Examiner'', formerly ''The Cork Examiner'' and then ''The Examiner'', is an Republic of Ireland, Irish national daily newspaper which primarily circulates in the Munster region surrounding its base in Cork (city), Cork, though it is ...

''. Farrell is a regular contributor to Irish and international media and has written for the ''Irish Times'', the ''Irish Examiner'' and international publications such as ''

CounterPunch ''CounterPunch'' is a left-wing online magazine. Content includes a free section published five days a week as well as a subscriber-only area called CounterPunch+, where original articles are published weekly. ''CounterPunch'' is based in the Un ...

''. In June 2023 Farrell was scheduled to appear alongside Clare Daly,

Mick Wallace Michael Wallace (born 9 November 1955) is an Irish politician, former property developer and former Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Republic of Ireland, Ireland for the South (European Parliament constituency), South constituency f ...

, Catherine Connolly,

George Galloway George Galloway (born 16 August 1954) is a British politician, broadcaster, and writer. He has been leader of the Workers Party of Britain since he founded it in 2019, and is a former leader of the Respect Party. Until 2003, he was a member ...

and academic Karen Devine in a neutrality forum hosted by the organisation Galway Alliance Against War, which describes itself as a group in Galway for those who are "opposed to war and military imperialism", prior to the event's cancellation. Farrell said she would be discussing her party's position at the event. On 22 October 2024 Farrell was appointed chair of the Dáil's

Public Accounts Committee A public accounts committee (PAC) is a committee within a legislature whose role is to study public audits, invite ministers, permanent secretaries or other ministry officials to the committee for questioning, and report on their findings subseque ...

, after Brian Stanley's resignation from Sinn Féin.https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2024/1022/1476873-mairead-farrell-pac/

References

External links

Sinn Féin profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farrell, Mairead 1990 births Living people 21st-century women Teachtaí Dála Alumni of the University of Galway Alumni of Queen's University Belfast Irish socialists Members of Galway City Council Members of the 33rd Dáil Politicians from County Galway Sinn Féin TDs (post-1923) Sinn Féin local councillors in the Republic of Ireland Members of the 34th Dáil