Irish Female Leaders

Vote for Your Favourite Irish Female Leaders

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 1 
Mary Robinson
(7th President of Ireland (1990 - 1997))
Mary Robinson
8
Birthdate: May 21, 1944
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Ballina, Ireland

A seasoned lawyer and a Harvard and Trinity College alumna, politician Mary Robinson has also taught law at Trinity. The Labour Party member later rose to be Ireland’s first female president. She was also a founding member of the global group of peacekeepers and leaders The Elders.

 2 
Constance Markievicz
(Politician)
Constance Markievicz
5
Birthdate: February 4, 1868
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: London, England, United Kingdom
Died: July 15, 1927

Irish revolutionary political leader and suffragist Constance Markievicz scripted history by becoming the first woman to be elected as a cabinet minister in Europe and also the first female to be elected to the British Parliament. Sentenced to death for her role in the Easter Rising, she was later granted amnesty.

 3 
Grace O'Malley
(Pirate)
Grace O'Malley
7
Birthdate: 1530 AD
Birthplace: Umhaill, Ireland
Died: June 18, 1603

Part of Irish folklore, Grace O'Malley was known as The Pirate Queen. Born into a seafaring family and was known for her unrelenting attitude toward the English. Known for her exploits in the Nine Years' War, she refused to bow down to Queen Elizabeth, as she herself was a queen.

 4 
Dana Rosemary Scallon
(Politician)
Dana Rosemary Scallon
6
Birthdate: August 30, 1951
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Islington, London, England
 5 
Anne Marie Waters
(Politician)
Anne Marie Waters
5
Birthdate: August 24, 1977
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Dublin, Ireland

Far-right British activist Anne Marie Waters initially joined the UK Independence Party, but after losing its leadership election to Henry Bolton, she formed For Britain, her own anti-Islam party. Her election manifesto promises to ban the burqa and the Sharia Law. The former Labour supporter had also launched the anti-Islam group Pegida UK.

 6 
Mary Lou McDonald
(Politician)
Mary Lou McDonald
8
Birthdate: May 1, 1969
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Churchtown, Dublin, Ireland

Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald scripted history when she became the first female leader of the opposition in Ireland. While she initially studied English literature, her later research interests included European affairs. She is also a fitness enthusiast and has taken to boxing to keep fit.

 7 
Mary McAleese
(8th President of Ireland (1997 - 2011))
Mary McAleese
4
Birthdate: June 27, 1951
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Ardoyne, Ireland

Apart from being a qualified barrister, Mary McAleese also taught criminal law at the Trinity College and also worked as a journalist. She later joined Fianna Fáil and soon became Ireland’s second female president. She has also written several books, including an autobiography. She is known as a prominent LGBT activist.

 8 
Clare Daly
(Politician)
Clare Daly
3
Birthdate: April 16, 1968
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Newbridge, Ireland
 9 
Kitty Kiernan
(Revolutionary)
Kitty Kiernan
6
Birthdate: January 26, 1893
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Granard, Ireland
Died: July 25, 1945
 10 
Norma Foley
(Politician)
Norma Foley
6
Birthdate: 1970 AD
Birthplace: Tralee, County Kerry
 11 
Holly Cairns
(Politician)
Holly Cairns
6
Birthdate: November 4, 1989
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Cork, Ireland
 12 
Helen McEntee
(Politician)
Helen McEntee
4
Birthdate: June 8, 1986
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Navan, Ireland
 13 
Hazel Chu
(Politician)
Hazel Chu
7
Birthdate: 1980 AD
Birthplace: Dublin, Ireland
 14 
Maud Gonne
(English-born Irish Republican Revolutionary, Suffragette & Actress)
Maud Gonne
0
Birthdate: December 21, 1866
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Tongham, England
Died: April 27, 1953

Maud Gonne not just co-founded the Sinn Féin party but also participated in the theater movement of W.B Yeats, who made her his muse and proposed to her many times, only to be rejected. An Irish nationalist, she also formed the Daughters of Ireland and acted in Yeats’s first play Cathleen ni Houlihan.

 15 
Mairead McGuinness
(Politician)
Mairead McGuinness
5
Birthdate: June 13, 1959
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Drogheda, Ireland
 16 
Jennifer Carroll MacNeill
(Politician)
Jennifer Carroll MacNeill
5
Birthdate: September 5, 1980
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Dublin, Ireland
 17 
Frances Fitzgerald
(Politician)
Frances Fitzgerald
4
Birthdate: August 1, 1950
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Croom, Ireland
 18 
Frances Black
(Politician)
Frances Black
2
Birthdate: June 25, 1960
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Charlemont Street, Dublin, Ireland
 19 
Katherine Zappone
(Politician)
Katherine Zappone
6
Birthdate: November 25, 1953
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Seattle, Washington, United States
 20 
Ivana Bacik
(Politician)
Ivana Bacik
3
Birthdate: May 25, 1968
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Dublin, Ireland

Apart from being a criminal law professor at Trinity College Dublin, Ivana Bacik is also a barrister who specializes in criminology, feminist law, and human rights. A politician for the Irish Labour Party and a senator for Dublin University, she is also the granddaughter of famous glass manufacturer Charles Bacik.

 21 
Lucinda Creighton
(Businesswoman)
Lucinda Creighton
3
Birthdate: January 20, 1980
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Claremorris, Ireland

Apart from being a barrister, Lucinda Creighton has been an Irish minister of state for European Affairs. A prominent leader of Renua and Fine Gael, she made significant contributions to Ireland’s EU/IMF bailout and later served as the CEO of Vulcan Consulting, a company she co-established with her husband.

 22 
Alice Mary Higgins
(Politician)
Alice Mary Higgins
4
Birthdate: April 10, 1975
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Galway, Ireland
 23 
Lynn Ruane
(Politician)
Lynn Ruane
2
Birthdate: October 20, 1984
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Tallaght, Dublin, Ireland
 24 
Elisha McCallion
(Politician)
Elisha McCallion
3
Birthdate: October 21, 1982
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Derry, Northern Ireland
 25 
Liadh Ni Riada
(Political Leader)
Liadh Ni Riada
3
Birthdate: November 24, 1966
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Dublin

Liadh Ni Riada is an Irish politician affiliated with the Sinn Féin party. She was previously a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the South constituency. Prior to joining politics, she was a TV producer and director. She is passionate about heritage and culture and is a vocal advocate for Irish language rights. 

 26 
Joan Burton
(Politician)
Joan Burton
3
Birthdate: February 1, 1949
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Stoneybatter, Dublin, Ireland
 27 
Eileen Flynn
(Irish Politician)
Eileen Flynn
2
Birthplace: Ballyfermot, Ireland
 28 
Kathleen Lynn
(Politician)
Kathleen Lynn
2
Birthdate: January 28, 1874
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Killala, Ireland
Died: September 14, 1955

A clergyman’s daughter, Kathleen Lynn went against her family to participate in the Easter Rising. She was also one of the first women doctors from University College Dublin and later became the chief medical officer of the Irish Citizen Army. She devoted her life to feminism and social upliftment of the poor.

 29 
Maria Bailey
(Politician)
Maria Bailey
2
Birthdate: November 21, 1975
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Dublin, Ireland
 30 
Regina Doherty
(Politician)
Regina Doherty
3
Birthdate: January 26, 1971
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Finglas, Dublin, Ireland
 31 
Lisa Chambers
(Politician)
Lisa Chambers
2
Birthdate: August 24, 1986
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Castlebar, County Mayo, Ireland
 32 
Averil Power
(Politician)
Averil Power
2
Birthdate: July 26, 1978
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Raheny, Dublin, Ireland
 33 
Mary Harney
(Politician)
Mary Harney
3
Birthdate: March 11, 1953
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Ballinasloe, County Galway, Ireland
 34 
Maureen O'Carroll
(Politician)
Maureen O'Carroll
2
Birthdate: March 29, 1913
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Galway, Ireland
Died: May 9, 1984
 35 
Heather Humphreys
(Politician)
Heather Humphreys
2
Birthdate: May 14, 1963
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Drum, County Monaghan, Ireland
 36 
Síle de Valera
(Politician)
Síle de Valera
2
Birthdate: December 17, 1954
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Clonskeagh, Dublin, Ireland
 37 
Pippa Hackett
(Member of the Seanad Éireann)
Pippa Hackett
2
Birthdate: January 8, 1974
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Galway, Ireland
 38 
Lynn Boylan
(Politician)
Lynn Boylan
3
Birthdate: November 29, 1976
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Dublin, Ireland
 39 
Catherine Martin
(Politician)
Catherine Martin
2
Birthdate: December 7, 1972
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Cavan, Ireland
 40 
Josepha Madigan
(Politician)
Josepha Madigan
2
Birthdate: May 21, 1970
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Dublin, Ireland
 41 
Kate O'Connell
(Politician)
Kate O'Connell
2
Birthdate: January 3, 1980
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Kilbeggan, County Westmeath, Ireland
 42 
Róisín Shortall
(Politician)
Róisín Shortall
2
Birthdate: April 25, 1954
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Drumcondra, Dublin, Ireland
 43 
Catherine Murphy
(Politician)
Catherine Murphy
2
Birthdate: September 1, 1953
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Dublin, Ireland
 44 
Catherine Connolly
(Politician)
Catherine Connolly
1
Birthdate: July 12, 1957
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Galway, Ireland
 45 
Hildegarde Naughton
(Politician)
Hildegarde Naughton
1
Birthdate: May 1, 1977
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Galway, Ireland
 46 
Maria Walsh
(Politician)
Maria Walsh
3
Birthdate: June 11, 1987
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Boston, Massachusetts, United States
 47 
Nora Owen
(Politician)
Nora Owen
1
Birthdate: June 1, 1945
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Malahide, Dublin, Ireland
 48 
Rita O'Hare
(Irish Politician)
Rita O'Hare
1
Birthdate: 1943 AD
Birthplace: Ireland
Died: March 3, 2023
 49 
Ellen Cuffe, Countess of Desart
(Politician)
Ellen Cuffe, Countess of Desart
0
Birthdate: September 1, 1857
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: London, England
Died: June 29, 1933
 50 
Fatima Hamroush
(Politician)
Fatima Hamroush
1
Birthdate: February 14, 1959
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Benghazi, Libya