Pauline O'Reilly (born 1974/1975) is an Irish

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

politician who served as a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

for the

Labour Panel The Labour Panel is one of five vocational panels which together elect 43 of the 60 members of Seanad Éireann, the senate of the Oireachtas (the legislature of Ireland). The Labour Panel elects eleven senators. Election Article 18 of the Const ...

from June 2020 to January 2025, and was chair of the

from December 2021 to May 2025.

Early life and education

O'Reilly is a qualified

solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...

. She is chair of the Galway Steiner National School.

Political career

O'Reilly was elected to

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 ...

at the 2019 local elections. O'Reilly stood unsuccessfully in Galway West at the 2020 general election. She won 6% of first preference votes and finished ninth in the five seat constituency. She was elected to

Seanad Éireann Seanad Éireann ( ; ; "Senate of Ireland") is the senate of the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann (defined as the house of representatives). It is commonly called the Seanad or ...

in 2020 as a senator for the

. She is the

spokesperson for Education and Higher Education. She is the leader of the Green Party in the Seanad. On 24 March 2021, O'Reilly was one of three Green Party senators to table a

motion of no confidence A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...

against party chair

Hazel Chu Hazel Chung-fai Chu (born 3 November 1980) is an Irish Green Party politician who has been a member of Dublin City Council since May 2019. She was chair of the Green Party from December 2019 to December 2021. She was the first Irish-born person ...

, after Chu announced her candidacy in a Seanad

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

, with O'Reilly stating she does not believe it's appropriate "to run as an independent candidate and also to be a chair of a party that’s in government and is supporting government candidates". On 16 December 2021, O'Reilly was elected as Chair of the Irish

, succeeding Chu. O'Reilly was re-elected to the position of party chair on 26 November 2023. O'Reilly was the Green Party's candidate for the Midlands–North-West constituency at the

2024 European Parliament election The 2024 European Parliament election was held in the European Union (EU) between 6 and 9 June 2024. It was the tenth Elections to the European Parliament, parliamentary election since the 1979 European Parliament election, first direct electio ...

. O'Reilly received 13,710 (2.0%) first preference votes but was not elected.

Personal life

O'Reilly has two children and practices

unschooling Unschooling is a practice of self-driven informal learning characterized by a lesson-free and curriculum-free implementation of homeschooling. Unschooling encourages exploration of activities initiated by the children themselves, under th ...

with them. Her husband works from home.

References

External links

Pauline O'Reilly's page on the Green Party website
{{DEFAULTSORT:OReilly, Pauline Living people 1970s births Green Party (Ireland) senators Members of Galway City Council Politicians from County Galway Members of the 26th Seanad 21st-century women members of Seanad Éireann Green Party (Ireland) candidates in Dáil elections Green Party (Ireland) local councillors Labour Panel senators