Eileen Paisley
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Eileen Emily Paisley, Baroness Paisley of St George's, Baroness Bannside (; born 2 November 1931), is a Northern Irish Unionist politician from
Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...
. She is the widow of
Ian Paisley Ian Richard Kyle Paisley, Baron Bannside, (6 April 1926 – 12 September 2014) was a loyalist politician and Protestant religious leader from Northern Ireland who served as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from 1971 to 2008 and ...
, Lord Bannside. Baroness Paisley became a
life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...
in 2006 and retired from the House of Lords on 30 October 2017. She is a vice-president of the
Democratic Unionist Party The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a Unionism in Ireland, unionist, Ulster loyalism, loyalist, British nationalist and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley, who ...
.


Early life

Eileen Cassells came from the well-to-do Sandown Road area of East Belfast. Her family were originally of the
Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...
faith but became members of the
Baptist Church Baptists are a denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers ( believer's baptism) and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches generally subscribe to the doctrines of ...
after a disagreement with their minister. Cassells had three elder siblings, all of whom died of scarlet fever before her birth. She worked as a shorthand typist prior to her marriage to the Rev. Ian Richard Kyle Paisley on 13 October 1956, by which stage she had converted to Free Presbyterianism. Among the congregation was Roman Catholic Falls Road girl Maura Lyons whose conversion to Free Presbyterianism and subsequent disappearance had Northern Ireland spellbound for several months. The Paisleys had five children together, daughters Sharon,
Rhonda Rhonda is a given name derived from Rhondda, which is a Welsh name. Notable people with the name include: * Rhonda Adams (born 1971), American model and actress * Rhonda Bates (born 1949), American actress * Rhonda Belle Martin (1907–1957), ...
(a graduate of
Bob Jones University Bob Jones University (BJU) is a private university in Greenville, South Carolina, United States. It is known for its Conservatism in the United States, conservative and Evangelicalism in the United States, evangelical cultural and religious posit ...
who served as a member of
Belfast City Council Belfast City Council () is the Local government in Northern Ireland, local authority with responsibility for part of Belfast, the largest city of Northern Ireland. The council serves an estimated population of (), the largest of any district c ...
) and Cherith, and
twin Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of Twin Last Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two ...
sons Kyle and Ian (the former a Free Presbyterian minister, the latter a former DUP MP).


Career

Eileen Paisley was elected as a
councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...
in
Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...
in 1967 for the
Protestant Unionist Party The Protestant Unionist Party (PUP)Not to be confused with the Progressive Unionist Party. was a unionist political party operating in Northern Ireland from 1966 to 1971. It was the forerunner of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and emerged ...
, the forerunner to the DUP, three years before her husband was elected to Stormont and
Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...
. She was also elected to the
Northern Ireland Assembly The Northern Ireland Assembly (; ), often referred to by the metonym ''Stormont'', is the devolved unicameral legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliam ...
in 1973 and the
Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention The Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention (NICC) was an elected body set up in 1975 by the United Kingdom Labour Party (UK), Labour government of Harold Wilson as an attempt to deal with constitutional issues surrounding the status of N ...
in 1975, representing Belfast East both times. It was announced on 11 April 2006 that she would be one of the first three members of the DUP to be created a
life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...
. She was gazetted on 14 June 2006 as Baroness Paisley of St George's, of St George's in the County of Antrim, after the ward that she represented on Belfast City Council. She was introduced to the
House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
on 3 July 2006. In June 2010, she gained the additional title, '' by courtesy'', of Lady Bannside, of North Antrim in the County of Antrim, when her husband was also elevated to the
peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks. Peerages include: A ...
as Ian chose not to be titled "Lord Paisley" on the grounds that it would have devalued Eileen's title if he had. From 6 June 2013, Paisley was on a
leave of absence The labour law concept of leave, specifically paid leave or, in some countries' long-form, a leave of absence, is an authorised prolonged absence from work, for any reason authorised by the workplace. When people "take leave" in this way, they ar ...
from the House of Lords before retiring in October 2017. In a December 2015 interview with the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
, Paisley stated that she would "not go out of her way" to vote for the DUP in future elections following the party's alleged "betrayal" over her late husband's resignation as party leader in 2008.


Arms


References


External links


Eileen Paisley, Trimble new peers
''
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
'', 11 April 2006
Baroness Paisley takes Lords seat
''
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
'', 3 July 2006 1931 births Democratic Unionist Party politicians Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II Life peers created by Elizabeth II Living people Members of Belfast City Council Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly 1973–1974 Members of the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention Presbyterians from Northern Ireland Democratic Unionist Party life peers Female members of the Northern Ireland Assembly Spouses of life peers Women councillors in Northern Ireland Peers retired under the House of Lords Reform Act 2014 {{Life-peer-stub