Mairéad Farrell (born 5 January 1990) is an Irish Sinn Féin politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Galway West constituency since the 2020 general election.[2]
Mairéad Farrell | |
|---|---|
 Farrell in 2020 | |
| Teachta Dála | |
| Assumed office February 2020 | |
| Constituency | Galway West |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 5 January 1990[1] Galway, Ireland |
| Political party | Sinn Féin |
| Relatives | Mairéad Farrell (aunt) |
| Alma mater | |
Early life and education
editMairéad Farrell is from the Mervue area in Galway City.[3] Her father, Niall, is an anti-war activist and her aunt, also called Mairéad Farrell, was a member of the Provisional Irish Republican Army who became one of the Gibraltar Three (three PIRA members killed by the British SAS in Gibraltar).[4]
Farrell holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and History from NUI Galway and a Master of Science in Finance from Queen's University Belfast.[5]
Political career
editFarrell sat on Sinn Féin's National Youth Committee for five years. She represented the Galway City East local electoral area on Galway City Council from 2014 to 2019.[6][7] She became a TD for Galway West in February 2020 at that year's General Election.[2] She is Sinn Féin's Spokesperson on Public Expenditure and Reform. She appeared on the Irish Times list of top 50 young people to watch in 2021[8] as well as one of 10 TDs making a name for themselves since the 2020 election[9] in the Irish Examiner.
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.[10]
In June 2023 Farrell was scheduled to appear alongside Clare Daly, Mick Wallace, Catherine Connolly, George Galloway 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". The topic for discussion was the Ireland’s militarily neutral stance, including as it relates to the Russo-Ukrainian War. Daly and Wallace's views on Russia have been criticised. The event came four years after Galloway was sacked from his job at Talkradio for posting the remark "No #Israel flags on the Cup!" on social media after Liverpool beat Tottenham. Tottenham said the remark was "blatant anti-semitism". Galloway said he made the remark after some Tottenham fans displayed the Israeli flag at the match, which he said demonstrated an affiliation to a "racist state".[11]
References
edit- ^ Farrell, Mairéad (5 January 2017). "When your sister and boyfriend buy you the exact same birthday card, I'll try not be offended by the alien on the front". @Farrell_Mairead. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
- ^ a b "Mairéad Farrell". Oireachtas Members Database. Archived from the original on 15 February 2020. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
- ^ Kelly, Paul (14 April 2019). "Cllr Mairéad Farrell sets out her stall ahead of Local Elections". Galway Daily. Archived from the original on 13 February 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
- ^ McDonald, Brian (25 May 2014). "Farrell gives SF leader credit for her win". Sunday Independent. Dublin. ISSN 0039-5218. Archived from the original on 13 February 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
- ^ "Mairéad Farrell TD". Sinn Féin. Archived from the original on 2 February 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
- ^ McGreevy, Ronan (9 February 2020). "Galway West results: Sinn Féin's Mairéad Farrell is the big winner". The Irish Times. Dublin. ISSN 0791-5144. Archived from the original on 24 September 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
- ^ Farrell, Mairéad [@Farrell_Mairead] (5 January 2017). "When your sister and boyfriend buy you the exact same birthday card, I'll try not be offended by the alien on the front" (Tweet). Retrieved 17 February 2020 – via Twitter.
- ^ Bray, Jennifer (4 January 2021). "50 people to watch in 2021: The best young talent in Ireland. Politics". The Irish Times. Dublin. ISSN 0791-5144. Archived from the original on 22 January 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
- ^ Loughlin, Elaine (8 February 2021). "Special report: 10 TDs making a name for themselves since election 2020". Irish Examiner. Cork. ISSN 1393-9564. Archived from the original on 8 February 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
- ^ "Authors: Mairéad Farrell". CounterPunch.
- ^ Gataveckaite, Gabija (1 June 2023). "Senior Sinn Féin TD and Dáil vice chair Catherine Connolly to take part in neutrality forum with MEPs Clare Daly, Mick Wallace and former MP George Galloway". The Irish Independent.