Eileen Emily Paisley, Baroness Paisley of St George's, Lady Bannside (''née'' Cassells; born 2 November 1931), is a Northern Irish Unionist

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

, a vice-president of the

Democratic Unionist Party The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a unionist, loyalist, and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley, who led the party for the next 37 years. Currently led by ...

, and the widow of

Ian Paisley Ian Richard Kyle Paisley, Baron Bannside, (6 April 1926 – 12 September 2014) was a Northern Irish loyalist politician and Protestant religious leader who served as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from 1971 to 2008 and Firs ...

, Lord Bannside, former leader of the DUP. She 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. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

in 2006. She retired from the House of Lords on 30 October 2017.

Early life

Eileen Emily Cassells married Ian Richard Kyle Paisley on 13 October 1956. They had five children together, a daughter

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), Amer ...

(a graduate of

Bob Jones University , motto_lang = Latin , mottoeng = We seek, we trust , top_free_label = , top_free = , type = Private university , established = , closed = , f ...

, who served as a member of Belfast City Council but has long since left politics), and two further daughters Sharon and Cherith. They also have twin sons, Kyle and Ian (the former a Free Presbyterian minister, the latter a DUP MP).

Career

Eileen Paisley was elected as a

councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingd ...

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 emerge ...

, the forerunner to the DUP, three years before her husband was elected to Stormont and

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buck ...

. She was also elected to the

Northern Ireland Assembly sco-ulster, Norlin Airlan Assemblie , legislature = Seventh Assembly , coa_pic = File:NI_Assembly.svg , coa_res = 250px , house_type = Unicameral , house1 = , leader1_type = ...

in 1973 and the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention 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

. 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, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster ...

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 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 from the House of Lords before retiring in October 2017. In a December 2015 interview with the BBC, 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
''

'', 3 July 2006 1931 births Democratic Unionist Party politicians Life peeresses 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 {{Northern-Ireland-MLA-stub