Carol Nolan (born 23 May 1978) is an Irish

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

politician who has been 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 Offaly constituency since the 2024 general election, and previously from 2016 to 2020. She was a TD for the Laois–Offaly constituency from 2020 to 2024.

Early and personal life

Nolan was born in

Tullamore Tullamore (; ) is the county town of County Offaly in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is on the Grand Canal (Ireland), Grand Canal, in the middle of the county, and is the fourth most populous town in the Midland Region, Ireland, Midlands Reg ...

in 1978, but she is a native of Cadamstown,

County Offaly County Offaly (; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is named after the Ancient Ireland, ancient Kingdom of Uí ...

. Nolan was educated at

Mary Immaculate College Mary Immaculate College (''Coláiste Mhuire gan Smál''), also known as MIC and Mary I, is a College of Education and Liberal Arts. Founded in 1898, the university level College of Education and the Liberal Arts is academically linked with the ...

and

NUI Galway The University of Galway () is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. The university was founded in 1845 as "Queen's College, Galway". It was known as "University College, Galway" (UCG) () from 1908 to 1997 and as ...

. She was a primary school teacher for 12 years. Nolan was also principal of Gaelscoil Thromaire in

County Laois County Laois ( ; ) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medieval kingdom. Hist ...

for three years.

Political career

Sinn Féin

Before becoming a TD, she was a

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( ; ; ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The History of Sinn Féin, original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffit ...

member of Offaly County Council from 2014 to 2016, for the Birr local electoral area. In March 2018, she was suspended from Sinn Féin for three months for voting against legislation to allow for a referendum on the repeal of the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution, support for which had been adopted at the party's Ard Fheis. She endorsed the Cherish all the Children Equally campaign which advocated for a No vote in the 2018 abortion referendum. She campaigned for the Love Both campaign which also advocated for a No vote in the referendum. She resigned from Sinn Féin on 19 June 2018, over the party's stance on abortion, saying "I won't be supporting the legislation as my position remains the same, as a

pro-life Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in response to the lega ...

TD who is strongly opposed to abortion".

Independent

She was re-elected as an independent TD for the Laois–Offaly constituency at the 2020 general election. Nolan was a member of the Rural Group of Independent TDs in the 33rd Dail. She was re-elected as an independent TD for the Offaly constituency at the 2024 general election. She joined the Regional Independents Group along with Mattie McGrath and four other government-affiliated Independents. A subsequent ruling by the

Ceann Comhairle The (; "Head of heCouncil"; plural usually ) is the chairperson (or speaker) of , the lower house of the (parliament) of Ireland. The person who holds the position is elected by members of the from among their number in the first session ...

, Verona Murphy that government-affiliated TDs cannot form a Technical group effectively stripped Nolan and McGrath of Dáil speaking time. Nolan called for reform of the Dáil Standing Orders to ensure all Independent TDs are accorded speaking time.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nolan, Carol 1978 births Living people Alumni of Mary Immaculate College, Limerick Alumni of the University of Galway Independent TDs Irish anti-abortion activists Irish schoolteachers Members of Offaly County Council Members of the 32nd Dáil Members of the 33rd Dáil People from Birr, County Offaly Sinn Féin TDs (post-1923) 21st-century women Teachtaí Dála Women heads of schools in Ireland Sinn Féin local councillors in the Republic of Ireland Members of the 34th Dáil