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 ...
, Northern Ireland) is an Irish former
Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice.
Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...
member of the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
representing
Leinster
Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland.
The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...
in
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
from 1994 to 2004. Ahern became active in politics in 1991 becoming elected to
Wicklow
Wicklow ( ; , meaning 'church of the toothless one'; ) is the county town of County Wicklow in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the east of Ireland, south of Dublin. According to the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, it had ...
County Council. She joined the Green Party in 1989.
Her involvement in politics began through community action in Wicklow to prevent sewage pollution into the
Irish Sea
The Irish Sea is a body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel and to the Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland in the north by the North Ch ...
. She is a long-term
anti-nuclear
The Anti-nuclear war movement is a social movement that opposes various nuclear technologies. Some direct action groups, environmental movements, and professional organisations have identified themselves with the movement at the local, n ...
campaigner, promoting the use of
renewable energy
Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...
. She grew up in the
Cooley peninsula
The Cooley Peninsula (, older ''Cúalṅge'') is a hilly peninsula in the north of County Louth on the east coast of Ireland; the peninsula includes the small town of Carlingford, the port of Greenore and the village of Omeath.
Geography
...
of North
County Louth
County Louth ( ; ) is a coastal Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of County Meath, Meath to the ...
which is close to the plutonium reprocessing plant in
Sellafield
Sellafield, formerly known as Windscale, is a large multi-function nuclear site close to Seascale on the coast of Cumbria, England. As of August 2022, primary activities are nuclear waste storage, nuclear waste processing and storage and nucle ...
on the West coast of the UK. She campaigned against the construction of a nuclear power plant in
Carnsore Point
Carnsore Point ( or ''Ceann an Chairn'') is a headland in the southeast corner of County Wexford, Ireland. It marks the southernmost point of the Irish Sea, on the western side of St George's Channel.
History
Ptolemy's ''Geography'' (2nd centu ...
,
County Wexford
County Wexford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was ba ...
in the late 1970s and for the closure of Sellafield which still operates today. She campaigned against the use of
genetically modified food
Genetically modified foods (GM foods), also known as genetically engineered foods (GE foods), or bioengineered foods are foods produced from organisms that have had changes introduced into their DNA using various methods of genetic engineering. G ...
stating concerns of inadequate scientific knowledge. She has also campaigned against
animal testing
Animal testing, also known as animal experimentation, animal research, and ''in vivo'' testing, is the use of animals, as model organisms, in experiments that seek answers to scientific and medical questions. This approach can be contrasted ...
in the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
.
In the European Parliament Ahern was vice-president of the Petitions Committee, vice-president of the Committee on Industry, External Trade, Research & Energy, member of the Culture Committee and Legal Affairs Committee and president of the Intergroup on Complementary and Natural Medicine.
Ahern is founding member of the Irish Women's Environment Network and the Wicklow Greens.
Her father
Vincent MacDowell
Vincent MacDowell (1925–2003) was an Irish political activist. He was the vice chairman of Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association in the 1960s, and later a representative of the Green Party and the Irish Labour Party.
Born in Newry, C ...
from Newry, was a councillor and political activist, a vice chairperson of