Michelle O'Neill
Michelle O'Neill | |
---|---|
Deputy Leader of Sinn Féin | |
Assumed office 10 February 2018 | |
Leader | Mary Lou McDonald |
Preceded by | Mary Lou McDonald |
Leader of Sinn Féin in Northern Ireland | |
Assumed office 23 January 2017 | |
Leader | Gerry Adams Mary Lou McDonald |
Preceded by | Martin McGuinness |
Minister of Health | |
In office 25 May 2016 – 2 March 2017 | |
First Minister | Arlene Foster |
Deputy First Minister | Martin McGuinness |
Preceded by | Simon Hamilton (Health, Social Services and Public Safety) |
Succeeded by | Vacant |
Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development | |
In office 5 May 2011 – 6 May 2016 | |
First Minister | Peter Robinson Arlene Foster |
Deputy First Minister | Martin McGuinness |
Preceded by | Michelle Gildernew |
Succeeded by | Michelle McIlveen (Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs) |
Mayor of Dungannon and South Tyrone | |
In office June 2010 – June 2011 | |
Preceded by | Francie Molloy |
Succeeded by | Kenneth Reid |
Member of the Legislative Assembly for Mid Ulster | |
Assumed office 7 March 2007 | |
Preceded by | Geraldine Dougan |
Personal details | |
Born | Michelle Mary Doris 10 January 1977 Fermoy, County Cork, Ireland |
Political party | Sinn Féin |
Spouse |
Paddy O'Neill (m. 1995) |
Children | 2 |
Website | Official website |
Michelle Mary O'Neill (née Doris; born 10 January 1977) is an Irish politician who has served as Vice President of Sinn Féin since February 2018, and Leader of Sinn Féin in the Northern Ireland Assembly since January 2017. She has been a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Mid Ulster since 2007. In the Northern Ireland Executive, she previously served as Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development from 2011 to 2016 and Minister of Health from 2016 to 2017.[1][2][3][4][5]
Background
O'Neill comes from an Irish republican family in Clonoe, County Tyrone. She was born in Fermoy, County Cork. Her father Brendan Doris was a Provisional IRA prisoner and Sinn Féin councillor.[6] Her uncle Paul Doris is a former national president of the Irish Northern Aid Committee (NORAID).[7] A cousin, Tony Doris, was one of three IRA members shot dead by the SAS in 1991.[8] Another cousin, IRA volunteer Gareth Malachy Doris, was shot and wounded during the 1997 Coalisland attack.[9]
After the death of Brendan Doris in 2006, Martin McGuinness paid tribute to the Doris family as "a well-known and respected republican family [who] have played a significant role in the republican struggle for many years".[10]
O'Neill attended St. Patrick's Girls' Academy, a Catholic grammar school in Dungannon, Tyrone.[11] She subsequently began to train as an accounting technician, before pursuing a political career.[11]
Political career
Early career
O'Neill became involved in republican politics in her teens,[6] assisting her father with constituency work in his role as a Dungannon councillor.[7] She joined Sinn Féin after the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, at the age of 21,[11][8] and started working as an advisor to Francie Molloy in the Northern Ireland Assembly. She kept this role until 2005,[10] when she was elected to represent the Torrent electoral area on Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council, taking the seat which had been vacated by her father.[12] O'Neill was elected as an MLA for Mid Ulster in the 2007 Assembly election, succeeding her Sinn Féin colleague Geraldine Dougan.[12] While a backbencher in the Assembly, she sat on Stormont's education and health committees.[13] In 2010, she became Mayor of Dungannon and South Tyrone.[14] O'Neill was the first woman to hold the position of Mayor, as well as one of the youngest people.[6] She held the council position until 2011.[12]
Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development
O'Neill succeeded Michelle Gildernew as Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development in the Northern Ireland Executive after the 2011 Assembly election.[15] One of her key decisions in the role was the relocation of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development's headquarters from Belfast to a former British Army barracks in Ballykelly, County Londonderry in a bid to decentralise civil service jobs.[16] The decision overruled an internal report on the matter, which recommended Strabane as a more appropriate location.[11]
In December 2013, the High Court quashed a decision by O'Neill to reallocate 7% of Common Agricultural Policy funds to rural development projects that had been favoured by environmentalists.[17] The court ruled that she was in breach of the Ministerial Code, having not sought the necessary permissions for the transfer from the Executive.[17]
Minister of Health
O'Neill replaced the Democratic Unionist Party's Simon Hamilton as Minister of Health following the 2016 election. After just eight days in office, she announced she would be scrapping the lifetime ban on gay and bisexual men donating blood in Northern Ireland.[18] On 25 October 2016, O'Neill unveiled a document titled Health and Wellbeing 2026: Delivering Together, a ten-year plan based on the findings of the Bengoa Report which aims to modernise the health and social care system.[19]
Leader of Sinn Féin in the Northern Ireland Assembly
On 23 January 2017, it was announced that O'Neill would replace Martin McGuinness as Sinn Féin's leader in the Northern Ireland Assembly.[2] McGuinness had resigned from the position and vacated the Executive Office in protest at Arlene Foster's handling of the Renewable Heating Incentive scandal. O'Neill was favoured for the leadership ahead of former Provisional IRA member Conor Murphy; this marked a notable break in the leadership's direct association with the organisation.[20][21][22] Sinn Féin delayed the nomination of O'Neill as McGuinness's replacement, triggering a snap election.[23][24]
In the 2017 election, O'Neill topped the polls in Mid Ulster and was returned to the Assembly with a 20.6% share of the constituency's first-preference votes.[25][26] On 13 March 2017, she issued a statement calling for a referendum on Irish unity "as soon as possible" in response to the United Kingdom's decision to leave the European Union.[27] On 26 March, O'Neill stated that inter-party negotiations aiming to restore a power-sharing coalition in Northern Ireland had failed, and thus Sinn Féin would not nominate her for the position of deputy First Minister.[28][29]
Personal life
O'Neill and her husband, Paddy, have two adult children: daughter Saoirse and son Ryan.[11][10]
Electoral history
Northern Ireland Assembly elections
Year | Constituency | Party | First-preference votes | % | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2007 | Mid Ulster | Sinn Féin | 6,432 | 14.5 | Elected |
2011 | Mid Ulster | Sinn Féin | 5,178 | 11.9 | Elected |
2016 | Mid Ulster | Sinn Féin | 6,147 | 15.1 | Elected |
2017 | Mid Ulster | Sinn Féin | 10,258 | 20.6 | Elected[30] |
References
- ^ "New northern Sinn Féin leader tells both governments to step up to the plate". 23 January 2017. Archived from the original on 26 January 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
{{cite web}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ a b "We stand for equality, respect and integrity – O'Neill". www.sinnfein.ie. Archived from the original on 29 January 2017. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
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suggested) (help) - ^ "Michelle O'Neill takes over as new Sinn Féin leader in North". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 22 February 2017. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
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suggested) (help) - ^ Mid Ulster Archived 10 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine, ARK.ac.uk; accessed 3 March 2017.
- ^ "The Northern Ireland Assembly". Archived from the original on 2 May 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
{{cite web}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ a b c "5 things you should know about Michelle O'Neill, the new Sinn Fein leader at Stormont". The Irish News. 23 January 2017. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
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suggested) (help) - ^ a b Breen, Suzanne (23 January 2017). "How does SF's Michelle O'Neill measure up to Arlene Foster?". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
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(help) - ^ a b McDonald, Henry (23 January 2017). "Michelle O'Neill: new Sinn Féin leader marks republican sea change". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 24 January 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
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suggested) (help) - ^ Barnes, Ciaran (20 February 2017). "Sinn Fein's Michelle O'Neill 'has no problem condemning criminality' after cousin convicted of fuel laundering". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
- ^ a b c "Who is Michelle O'Neill? Meet the new leader of Sinn Féin in Northern Ireland". The Irish Post. 23 January 2017. Archived from the original on 27 February 2017. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
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suggested) (help) - ^ a b c d e "Michelle O'Neill: Who is Sinn Féin's new Northern leader?". BBC News. 23 January 2017. Archived from the original on 25 January 2017. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
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suggested) (help) - ^ a b c Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Date_validation at line 961: bad argument #3 to 'format' (string expected, got nil).
- ^ Young, Connla. "Who is Michelle O'Neill?". The Irish News. Archived from the original on 30 March 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
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suggested) (help) - ^ "Sinn Fein lady Mayor in Dungannon". Tyrone Times. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
- ^ "Michelle new Agriculture Minister". Tyrone Times. 20 May 2011. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
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suggested) (help) - ^ "Department of Agriculture's Ballykelly HQ plans unveiled". BBC News. 30 April 2015. Archived from the original on 28 May 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
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suggested) (help) - ^ a b Simpson, Mark (30 December 2013). "Michelle O'Neill will not challenge legal judgement". BBC News. Archived from the original on 28 May 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
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suggested) (help) - ^ correspondent, Henry McDonald Ireland (2 June 2016). "Northern Ireland to lift ban on gay men donating blood". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
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suggested) (help) - ^ "O'Neill launches 10 year vision for Health & Social Care". Health. 25 October 2016. Archived from the original on 30 March 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
{{cite news}}
: Unknown parameter|deadurl=
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suggested) (help) - ^ correspondent, Henry McDonald Ireland (23 January 2017). "Michelle O'Neill: new Sinn Féin leader marks republican sea change". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 25 March 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
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suggested) (help) - ^ "Subscribe to read". www.ft.com. Archived from the original on 29 March 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
{{cite web}}
: Cite uses generic title (help); Unknown parameter|deadurl=
ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ McKeown, Gareth. "Michelle O'Neill set to be named new Sinn Féin leader at Stormont". The Irish News. Archived from the original on 30 March 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|deadurl=
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suggested) (help) - ^ "Subscribe to read". www.ft.com. Archived from the original on 30 March 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
{{cite web}}
: Cite uses generic title (help); Unknown parameter|deadurl=
ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ correspondent, Henry McDonald Ireland (23 January 2017). "Sinn Féin names Michelle O'Neill as new leader in Northern Ireland". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 25 March 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
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suggested) (help) - ^ "Sinn Féin's Michelle O'Neill tops poll in Mid Ulster". ITV News. Archived from the original on 30 March 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
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suggested) (help) - ^ "NI Assembly Election 2017 Result Sheet – Mid Ulster (XLS)". The Electoral Office of Northern Ireland – EONI. Archived from the original on 30 March 2017.
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suggested) (help) - ^ "Michelle O'Neill calls for 'urgent' referendum on Irish unity". BBC News. 13 March 2017. Archived from the original on 29 March 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
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: Unknown parameter|deadurl=
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suggested) (help) - ^ "NI political talks have run their course, says Sinn Fein". BBC News. 26 March 2017. Archived from the original on 28 March 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
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: Unknown parameter|deadurl=
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suggested) (help) - ^ correspondent, Henry McDonald Ireland (26 March 2017). "Northern Ireland power-sharing talks break down". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 29 March 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
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suggested) (help) - ^ "Electoral Office for Northern Ireland". eoni.org.ouk. Archived from the original on 11 February 2017.
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External links
- Media related to Michelle O'Neill at Wikimedia Commons
- 1977 births
- Living people
- Councillors in Northern Ireland
- Ministers of the Northern Ireland Executive (since 1999)
- Sinn Féin MLAs
- Northern Ireland MLAs 2007–11
- Northern Ireland MLAs 2011–16
- Northern Ireland MLAs 2016–17
- Northern Ireland MLAs 2017–
- Female members of the Northern Ireland Assembly
- Women ministers of the Northern Ireland Executive
- LGBT rights activists from Northern Ireland