Nikki Bradley | |
|---|---|
 Bradley in 2025 | |
| Senator | |
| Assumed office 10 July 2024 | |
| Constituency | Nominated by the Taoiseach |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 23 January 1986 County Donegal,Ireland |
| Political party | Fine Gael |
Nikki Bradley (born 23 January 1986) [1] is an Irish Fine Gael politician who has served as a senator since July 2024. She is also a disability rights advocate and a motivational speaker. [2] [3] [4]
Bradley is from Milford,County Donegal. Diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma in 2002,at age 16,she has used crutches since 2013,following two hip replacements. [3] [5] [6] Since 2013,she has undertaken a variety of physical-fitness challenges,such as climbing four mountains (Carrauntoohil,Croagh Patrick,Slieve Donard and Errigal) in 32 hours. [7] She has documented these challenges as part of her "Fighting Fit for Ewing's" online awareness campaign. [5] [8] She has also worked with other disability organisations. [2] In 2022,she had a partial leg amputation and rotationplasty. [9]
On 10 July 2024,Bradley was nominated to the 26th Seanad by the Taoiseach,Simon Harris,to fill the vacancy caused by the election of Regina Doherty to the European Parliament. [3] In a statement accepting the nomination,she said that she planned to speak on disability issues,the defective block crisis,and voter turnout among young voters. [10] On 11 July she was formally introduced to the Seanad and made her maiden speech. [11]
Bradley contested the 2024 general election,standing as one of two Fine Gael candidates in the Donegal constituency. [12] She received 3,658 first-preference votes (4.7%) and was eliminated on the 14th count with 6,176 votes overall. [13] Neither she nor her Fine Gael running mate was elected,marking the first time since the 1930s that the party did not win a seat in Donegal. [14] Bradley's post-election interviews sparked anger and went viral after she claimed that a "negative attitude" persisted in Donegal and that voters were "moaning and groaning" about issues. [15] She later issued an apology for her comments. [16] [17]
On 7 February 2025,Bradley was nominated to the 27th Seanad by the Taoiseach. [18]
Bradley became engaged to her partner,Ian Parke,on her 36th birthday in 2022. The couple live in Milford,County Donegal. [19]
Nikki toasted the occasion of her 36th birthday on Sunday and confirmed her engagement
she got engaged ... on her 36th birthday. ... I found out about my surgery on Friday and I got engaged that night.
I've had two hip replacements following a rare childhood cancer diagnosis (Ewing's Sarcoma) in 2002, when I was 16