Catherine Byrne (born 26 February 1956) is an Irish former

Fine Gael Fine Gael ( ; ; ) is a centre-right, liberal-conservative, Christian democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil Éireann. The party had a member ...

politician who served as a

Minister of State Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...

from 2016 to 2020 and

Lord Mayor of Dublin The Lord Mayor of Dublin () is the honorary title of the chairperson ( ) of Dublin City Council which is the local government body for the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. The incumbent, since December 2024, is Fine Gael councillor Emma ...

from 2005 to 2006. She 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 Dublin South-Central constituency from 2007 to 2020.

Political career

Byrne stood unsuccessfully as a candidate at the 2002 general election, she was elected on her next attempt at the 2007 general election. She was a member of

Dublin City Council Dublin City Council () is the Local government in the Republic of Ireland, local authority of the city of Dublin in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. As a city council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. Until 2001, the authority was k ...

for the South West Inner City

local electoral area A local electoral area (LEA; ) is an electoral area for elections to Local government in the Republic of Ireland, local authorities in Ireland. All elections in the Republic of Ireland, elections use the single transferable vote. Republic of Ir ...

. She served for a term as

in 2005. She was party deputy spokesperson on Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, with special responsibility for National Drugs Strategy from 2007 to 2010. From July 2010 to March 2011, she was spokesperson on Older Citizens. She was the vice-chair of the Fine Gael parliamentary party from 2014 to 2016. On 19 May 2016, Byrne was appointed by the Fine Gael–Independent government on the nomination of

Taoiseach The Taoiseach (, ) is the head of government or prime minister of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the President of Ireland upon nomination by Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...

Enda Kenny Enda Kenny (born 24 April 1951) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 2011 to 2017, Leader of Fine Gael from 2002 to 2017, Minister for Defence (Ireland), Minister for Defence from May to July 2014 and 2016 to 201 ...

Minister of State at the Department of Health The Minister of State at the Department of Health is a junior ministerial post in the Department of Health of the Government of Ireland who may perform functions delegated by the Minister for Health. A Minister of State does not hold cabinet ran ...

and at the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government with special responsibility for Communities and the National Drugs Strategy. On 20 June 2017, she was appointed by

the government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

formed by

Leo Varadkar Leo Eric Varadkar ( ; born 18 January 1979) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 2017 to 2020 and from 2022 to 2024, as Tánaiste from 2020 to 2022, and as leader of Fine Gael from 2017 to 2024. A Teachta Dála, ...

as Minister of State at the Department of Health with special responsibility for National Drugs Strategy and Health Promotion. She lost her seat at the general election in February 2020. She continued to serve as a Minister of State until the formation of a new government on 27 June 2020.

Personal life

Byrne was leader of St Michael's Folk/Gospel Group for 15 years and has completed a two-year Lay Ministry Course in

All Hallows College All Hallows College was a college of higher education in Dublin. It was founded in 1842 and was run by the Vincentians from 1892 until 2016. On 23 May 2014, it was announced that it was closing because of declining student enrollment. The sale ...

, and also holds a Diploma in Catering. In 2006, she was granted a

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

, by the

Chief Herald of Ireland The Genealogical Office is an office of the Government of Ireland containing genealogical records. It includes the Office of the Chief Herald of Ireland (), the authority in Ireland for heraldry. The Chief Herald authorises the granting of arm ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Byrne, Catherine 1956 births Living people Fine Gael TDs Lord mayors of Dublin Members of the 30th Dáil Members of the 31st Dáil Members of the 32nd Dáil Ministers of State of the 32nd Dáil Politicians from County Dublin Women mayors of places in Ireland Women ministers of state of the Republic of Ireland 21st-century women Teachtaí Dála Fine Gael local councillors