Maria Byrne (born 27 November 1967) is an Irish

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 has served as

Leas-Chathaoirleach Cathaoirleach (; Irish for chairperson; plural: ) is the title of the chair (or presiding officer) of Seanad Éireann, the sixty-member upper house of the Oireachtas, the legislature of Ireland. The current Cathaoirleach is Fianna Fáil Senat ...

Seanad Éireann Seanad Éireann ( ; ; "Senate of Ireland") is the senate of the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann (defined as the house of representatives). It is commonly called the Seanad or ...

since February 2025. Byrne served as a member of

Limerick City and County Council Limerick City and County Council () is the local authority of Limerick City and County in Ireland. It came into operation on 1 June 2014 after the 2014 local elections. It was formed by the merger of Limerick City Council and Limerick Count ...

from 1999 up until her election to Seanad Éireann in April 2016. She served as

Mayor of Limerick The Mayor of Limerick is the head of the local government of the Limerick, City and County Limerick, County of Limerick. It is a directly elected office with a five-year term. Following the 2024 Limerick mayoral election, John Moran (Mayor of Li ...

from 2010 to 2011. She was first elected as a

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

on the

Agricultural Panel The Agricultural Panel is one of five vocational panels which together elect 43 of the 60 members of Seanad Éireann, the senate of the Oireachtas (the legislature of Ireland). The Agricultural Panel elects eleven senators. Election Article 18 ...

in the

25th Seanad The 25th Seanad was in office from 2016 to 2020. An election to Seanad Éireann, the senate of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament), followed the 2016 general election to the 32nd Dáil on 26 February. There are 60 seats in the Seanad: 43 were el ...

in April 2016. She was the Fine Gael Seanad spokesperson for Education and Skills. At the 2020 general election, she was a Fine Gael candidate for the

33rd Dáil The 33rd Dáil was elected at the 2020 general election on 8 February 2020 and first met on 20 February 2020. The members of Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas (legislature) of Ireland, are known as TDs. It sat wit ...

in the

Limerick City Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

, but was not elected. She lost her Seanad seat at the

2020 Seanad election An indirect election to the 26th Seanad took place after the 2020 Irish general election, with postal ballots due on 30 and 31 March. Seanad Éireann is the upper house of the Oireachtas, with Dáil Éireann as the lower house of representative ...

, but was a successful candidate at the 2021 Seanad by-elections, for the Agricultural Panel in April 2021. She was re-elected to the

27th Seanad The 27th Seanad has been in office since February 2025. The 2025 Seanad election took place in January 2025, following the 2024 Irish general election, 2024 general election to the 34th Dáil on 29 November 2024. It was fully composed on 7 Febru ...

at the

2025 Seanad election An indirect election to the 27th Seanad took place in January 2025, following the 2024 general election to the 34th Dáil in November 2024. Seanad Éireann is the upper house of the Oireachtas, with Dáil Éireann as its lower house. Polls clo ...

on the Agricultural Panel. She was elected as

on 19 February 2025.

References

External links

Maria Byrne's page on the Fine Gael website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Byrne, Maria 1967 births Living people Fine Gael senators Members of the 25th Seanad Members of the 26th Seanad Members of the 27th Seanad 21st-century women members of Seanad Éireann Politicians from County Limerick Members of Limerick City Council Fine Gael candidates in Dáil elections Agricultural Panel senators Members of Limerick City and County Council