Pauline O'Reilly | |
|---|---|
 O'Reilly in 2020 | |
| Senator | |
| Assumed office 29 June 2020 | |
| Chair of the Green Party | |
| Assumed office 16 December 2021 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1974or1975(age 49–50) [1] Galway,Ireland |
| Political party | Green Party |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | |
Pauline O'Reilly (born 1974/1975) is an Irish Green Party politician who has served as a Senator for the Labour Panel since April 2020 [2] [3] and Cathaoirleach of the Green Party since December 2021.
O'Reilly is a qualified solicitor. She is chairwoman of the Galway Steiner National School.
O'Reilly was elected to Galway City Council at the 2019 local elections. [4]
O'Reilly stood unsuccessfully in Galway West in the 2020 general election. She won 6% of first preference votes and finished ninth in the 5 seater constituency. [5] [6]
She was elected to Seanad Éireann in 2020 as a Senator for the Labour Panel. [7] Niall Murphy was co-opted to O'Reilly's seat on Galway City Council following her election to the Seanad. She is the Green Party Spokesperson for Education and Higher Education. [8] She is the Leader of the Green Party in the Seanad. [9]
On 24 March 2021, O'Reilly was one of three Green Party senators to table a motion of no confidence against party Cathaoirleach Hazel Chu, after Chu announced her candidacy in a Seanad bye-election as an independent, 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". [10]
On 16 December 2021, O'Reilly was elected as Cathaoirleach (Chairperson) of the Irish Green Party, succeeding Chu, following an election against Councillor Collette Finn and Dr. Bláithín Gallagher. [11] O'Reilly was re-elected to the position of party chair on 26 November 2023. [12]
O'Reilly was the Green Party's candidate for the Midlands–North-West constituency at the 2024 European Parliament election. [12] O'Reilly received 13,710 (2.0%) first preference votes but was not elected. [13]
O'Reilly has two children and practices unschooling with them. [14] [15] Her husband Conor works from home. [16]
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