Mary Fitzpatrick
Encyclopedia
Mary Fitzpatrick is an Irish
Fianna Fáil
politician and a member of Dublin City Council
, representing the Cabra
-Glasnevin
electoral area. She was the party spokesperson on Housing & Urban Development in 2011.
with a BA in German and Italian.
She emigrated in the 1980s and for more than ten years worked as a Marketing Director for an industry leading global telecoms provider in New York and London before returning to Dublin. Fitzpatrick lives with husband Sean and has three children.
TD, who stood down after the Local Government Act 2001
banned sitting Teachtaí Dála and Senators
from holding local authority seats while members of the Oireachtas
. She was re-elected at the 2004 local elections, polling over 10% of the vote.
system, rival Cyprian Brady
polled just 939 first preference votes (2.7%) in the first count, compared to Fitzgerald's 1,725. However he was elected on the fourth count, due in large part to transfers from his running mate, the Taoiseach
Bertie Ahern
, and became only the second ever TD (after Brian O'Higgins
) to be elected with less than 1,000 first-preference votes.
The election became the subject of a public controversy, covered in national newspapers and on the RTÉ Radio 1
news programme Drivetime and on the weekly Documentary on One which had been covering the campaigns of the three female candidates in the constituency.
Mary Fitzpatrick, who was the third Fianna Fáil candidate in the 4-seat constituency, had received 1,725 first-preference votes, she only got 1,362 from Ahern's surplus whereas Brady got 2,403. In the early hours of the election morning, a letter had been hand-delivered from Ahern's office to 30,000 voters in the constituency, urging them give their first preference to the Taoiseach and their second to Brady. Since Ahern was expected to be elected with a large surplus, and the overall Fianna Fáil vote was likely to be large enough to elect two candidates, the destination of the Taoiseach's transfers would determine whether Brady or Fitzpatrick won the second Fianna Fáil seat in Dublin Central. After Ahern's transfers secured Brady's election, Fitzpatrick complained that "I didn't think they'd go out to completely undermine me and shaft me." Brady said "An election is an election and not everybody can win", adding "Mary is a colleague of mine and she is a very good councillor. It's not really fair for Mary to be blaming anybody".
, brother of the former taoiseach who lost his council seat, was viewed as a reaction to perceived unfairness in Fitzpatrick’s treatment by the "Ahern machine" or the "Drumcondra mafia".
and there was no hope of Fianna Fáil winning two seats in the constituency.
During the campaign, former Labour party leader Pat Rabbitte
, reacting to her appointment as FF spokesperson on Housing and Urban Development, said "You might as well wander down Grafton Street and see if you can meet a couple of good-looking women and say, 'Would you ever mind coming up for the photograph'." FitzPatrick relied: "I'm happy to take the compliment of being a good-looking woman any day, particularly from the Opposition. But I do take issue with his dismissive and patronising attitude to the contribution I've made to political life.It is a real shame that when women are given important jobs on their own merits, they have to deal with sexist comments from Pat Rabbitte."
During the campaign the rows between her and Cyprian Brady
were widely reported in the media
.
Suffering from the massive backlash against Fianna Fáil
in Dublin she polled 10% of the vote, losing the final seat to Mary Lou McDonald
of Sinn Féin
.
She contested the 2011 Seanad election as one of Fianna Fáil leader Micheal Martin
's chosen 10 on the Administrative panel but was unsuccessful.
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party , more commonly known as Fianna Fáil is a centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland, founded on 23 March 1926. Fianna Fáil's name is traditionally translated into English as Soldiers of Destiny, although a more accurate rendition would be Warriors of Fál...
politician and a member of Dublin City Council
Dublin City Council
Dublin City Council is the local authority for the city of Dublin in Ireland. It has 52 members and is the largest local authority in Ireland. Until 2001, it was known as Dublin Corporation.-Legal status:...
, representing the Cabra
Cabra
Cabra is the Spanish word for goat. It may also refer to:*Cabra, Dublin, a district in north Dublin, Ireland*Cabra, County Down, a townland in County Down, Northern Ireland*Cabra, Spain, a municipality in the province of Córdoba, Andalucía, Spain...
-Glasnevin
Glasnevin
Glasnevin is a largely residential neighbourhood of Dublin, Ireland.-Geography:A mainly residential neighbourhood, it is located on the Northside of the city of Dublin . It was originally established on the northern bank of the River Tolka...
electoral area. She was the party spokesperson on Housing & Urban Development in 2011.
Personal
Fitzpatrick is from the Navan Road and was educated at Our Lady Help of Christians and St Dominics College Cabra before graduating from University College DublinUniversity College Dublin
University College Dublin ) - formally known as University College Dublin - National University of Ireland, Dublin is the Republic of Ireland's largest, and Ireland's second largest, university, with over 1,300 faculty and 17,000 students...
with a BA in German and Italian.
She emigrated in the 1980s and for more than ten years worked as a Marketing Director for an industry leading global telecoms provider in New York and London before returning to Dublin. Fitzpatrick lives with husband Sean and has three children.
Political career
Fitzpatrick was co-opted to the Council in 2003 to replace her father, Dermot FitzpatrickDermot Fitzpatrick
Dermot Fitzpatrick is a former Irish Fianna Fáil politician. He is a native of Dublin city, and was educated at Coláiste Mhuire, an Irish language secondary school in the city, and at University College Dublin, from which he graduated with a degree in medicine...
TD, who stood down after the Local Government Act 2001
Local Government Act 2001
The Local Government Act, 2001 was enacted by the Oireachtas of the Republic of Ireland on 21 July 2001. Most of the provisions of the Act came into operation on 1 January 2002....
banned sitting Teachtaí Dála and Senators
Seanad Éireann
Seanad Éireann is the upper house of the Oireachtas , which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann . It is commonly called the Seanad or Senate and its members Senators or Seanadóirí . Unlike Dáil Éireann, it is not directly elected but consists of a mixture of members chosen by...
from holding local authority seats while members of the Oireachtas
Oireachtas
The Oireachtas , sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the "national parliament" or legislature of Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of:*The President of Ireland*The two Houses of the Oireachtas :**Dáil Éireann...
. She was re-elected at the 2004 local elections, polling over 10% of the vote.
2007 general election
At the 2007 general election, held under Ireland's single transferable voteSingle transferable vote
The single transferable vote is a voting system designed to achieve proportional representation through preferential voting. Under STV, an elector's vote is initially allocated to his or her most preferred candidate, and then, after candidates have been either elected or eliminated, any surplus or...
system, rival Cyprian Brady
Cyprian Brady
Cyprian Brady is a former Irish Fianna Fáil politician. He was a Teachta Dála for the Dublin Central constituency from 2007 to 2011.-Political career:...
polled just 939 first preference votes (2.7%) in the first count, compared to Fitzgerald's 1,725. However he was elected on the fourth count, due in large part to transfers from his running mate, the Taoiseach
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government or prime minister of Ireland. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas , and must, in order to remain in office, retain the support of a majority in the Dáil.The current Taoiseach is...
Bertie Ahern
Bertie Ahern
Patrick Bartholomew "Bertie" Ahern is a former Irish politician who served as Taoiseach of Ireland from 26 June 1997 to 7 May 2008....
, and became only the second ever TD (after Brian O'Higgins
Brian O'Higgins
Brian O'Higgins was an Irish Sinn Féin politician. He was President of Sinn Féin from 1931–1933. He was elected unopposed as a Sinn Féin MP for Clare West at the 1918 general election...
) to be elected with less than 1,000 first-preference votes.
The election became the subject of a public controversy, covered in national newspapers and on the RTÉ Radio 1
RTÉ Radio 1
RTÉ Radio 1 is the principal radio channel of Irish public-service broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann and is the direct descendant of Dublin radio station 2RN, which began broadcasting on a regular basis on 1 January 1926...
news programme Drivetime and on the weekly Documentary on One which had been covering the campaigns of the three female candidates in the constituency.
Mary Fitzpatrick, who was the third Fianna Fáil candidate in the 4-seat constituency, had received 1,725 first-preference votes, she only got 1,362 from Ahern's surplus whereas Brady got 2,403. In the early hours of the election morning, a letter had been hand-delivered from Ahern's office to 30,000 voters in the constituency, urging them give their first preference to the Taoiseach and their second to Brady. Since Ahern was expected to be elected with a large surplus, and the overall Fianna Fáil vote was likely to be large enough to elect two candidates, the destination of the Taoiseach's transfers would determine whether Brady or Fitzpatrick won the second Fianna Fáil seat in Dublin Central. After Ahern's transfers secured Brady's election, Fitzpatrick complained that "I didn't think they'd go out to completely undermine me and shaft me." Brady said "An election is an election and not everybody can win", adding "Mary is a colleague of mine and she is a very good councillor. It's not really fair for Mary to be blaming anybody".
2009 local election
Fitzpatrick was the only Fianna Fáil candidate to get elected on the first count in Dublin in the 2009 local elections. The massive difference between Fitzpatrick's result and that of Maurice AhernMaurice Ahern
Maurice Ahern is a former Irish Fianna Fáil politician. He was a member of Dublin City Council for the Cabra–Glasnevin local electoral area from 1999 to 2009. He was first elected at the 1999 local elections, topping the poll. He was re-elected at the 2004 local elections. He was the Lord Mayor of...
, brother of the former taoiseach who lost his council seat, was viewed as a reaction to perceived unfairness in Fitzpatrick’s treatment by the "Ahern machine" or the "Drumcondra mafia".
2011 general election
In January 2011, she was selected as a Fianna Fáil candidate in Dublin Central for the 2011 general election. Former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said his loyalties this time would be with sitting TD Cyprian BradyCyprian Brady
Cyprian Brady is a former Irish Fianna Fáil politician. He was a Teachta Dála for the Dublin Central constituency from 2007 to 2011.-Political career:...
and there was no hope of Fianna Fáil winning two seats in the constituency.
During the campaign, former Labour party leader Pat Rabbitte
Pat Rabbitte
Pat Rabbitte is an Irish Labour Party politician who has been Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources since March 2011...
, reacting to her appointment as FF spokesperson on Housing and Urban Development, said "You might as well wander down Grafton Street and see if you can meet a couple of good-looking women and say, 'Would you ever mind coming up for the photograph'." FitzPatrick relied: "I'm happy to take the compliment of being a good-looking woman any day, particularly from the Opposition. But I do take issue with his dismissive and patronising attitude to the contribution I've made to political life.It is a real shame that when women are given important jobs on their own merits, they have to deal with sexist comments from Pat Rabbitte."
During the campaign the rows between her and Cyprian Brady
Cyprian Brady
Cyprian Brady is a former Irish Fianna Fáil politician. He was a Teachta Dála for the Dublin Central constituency from 2007 to 2011.-Political career:...
were widely reported in the media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
.
Suffering from the massive backlash against Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party , more commonly known as Fianna Fáil is a centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland, founded on 23 March 1926. Fianna Fáil's name is traditionally translated into English as Soldiers of Destiny, although a more accurate rendition would be Warriors of Fál...
in Dublin she polled 10% of the vote, losing the final seat to Mary Lou McDonald
Mary Lou McDonald
Mary Lou McDonald is an Irish politician, the current Vice President of Sinn Féin and a Teachta Dála for Dublin Central...
of Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
.
She contested the 2011 Seanad election as one of Fianna Fáil leader Micheal Martin
Micheál Martin
Micheál Martin is an Irish politician who has been leader of Fianna Fáil since January 2011. He is a Teachta Dála for the Cork South Central constituency...
's chosen 10 on the Administrative panel but was unsuccessful.
External links
- http://www.maryfitzpatrick.ie