Breeda Moynihan-Cronin (; born 31 March 1953) is an Irish former Labour Party politician who served as a

Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( ; ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish language, Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The official Engli ...

(TD) for the Kerry South constituency from 1992 to 2007. She was born in

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

in 1953, but is a native of

Killarney Killarney ( ; , meaning 'church of sloes') is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is on the northeastern shore of Lough Leane, part of Killarney National Park, and is home to St Mary's Cathedral, Killar ...

County Kerry County Kerry () is a Counties of Ireland, county on the southwest coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is bordered by two other countie ...

. She was educated at St. Brigid's Secondary School, Killarney;

Dominican College Sion Hill Dominican College Sion Hill is one of the oldest girls' secondary schools in Ireland, founded in 1836 in Blackrock, County Dublin. Its approach to education is based on the Dominican ideal of developing the whole person. "Dominican College Sio ...

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

; and

Skerry's College Skerry's College was a series of colleges which primarily prepared candidates for Civil Service examinations across the UK and Ireland. History 1878–1885 Skerry's College was inaugurated as a small training centre in Edinburgh in 1878 by Ge ...

, Cork. Her father, Michael Moynihan, was a TD for Kerry South from 1981 to 1987 and from 1989 to 1992. She worked as a bank official before becoming involved in politics in 1991 when she was elected to

Kerry County Council Kerry County Council () is the Local government in the Republic of Ireland, local authority of County Kerry, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing and community, roa ...

. She was first elected to

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( ; , ) is the lower house and principal chamber of the Oireachtas, which also includes the president of Ireland and a senate called Seanad Éireann.Article 15.1.2° of the Constitution of Ireland reads: "The Oireachtas shall co ...

at the 1992 general election as a Labour Party TD for Kerry South, succeeding her father. She was re-elected at every election until 2007. She held a number of Front Bench positions in the Labour Party, including, Spokesperson on Justice, Equality and Law Reform (1997–1998), Social, Community and Family Affairs (1998–1999), Tourism and Recreation (1999–2002), Social, Community and Family Affairs (2002–2003), and Equality and Law Reform (2003–2007). Moynihan–Cronin is a former chairperson of the Labour Party. On 11 October 2005, she announced that she would not stand for re-election at the forthcoming general election due to ill-health. Her decision to retire presented considerable difficulties for the Labour Party to retain her seat, as the party performed poorly at the 2004 Kerry County Council election, failing to elect any councillors within the county. However, on 28 October 2006, she announced that she would stand in the forthcoming general election, having overcome her health difficulties. However, she failed to retain her seat. In June 2011, she returned to politics when she was co-opted onto

to represent the Killarney area, filling the seat left vacant when Marie Moloney was elected to the

24th Seanad The 24th Seanad was in office from 2011 to 2016. An election to Seanad Éireann, the senate of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament), followed the 2011 general election to the 31st Dáil on 25 February. There are 60 seats in the Seanad: 43 were el ...

. In 2013, she stood down from the council and was replaced by Sean Counihan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moynihan-Cronin, Breeda 1953 births Living people Labour Party (Ireland) TDs Members of the 27th Dáil Members of the 28th Dáil Members of the 29th Dáil 20th-century women Teachtaí Dála 21st-century women Teachtaí Dála Members of Kerry County Council People educated at Dominican College Sion Hill Labour Party (Ireland) local councillors