Nuala Fennell (; 25 November 1935 – 11 August 2009) was an Irish

Fine Gael Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and 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 � ...

politician, economist and activist who served as

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In ...

from December 1982 to January 1987 with responsibility for Women's Affairs and Family Law. 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, Oireachtas (the Irish Parliament). It is the equivalent of terms s ...

(TD) for the Dublin South from 1981 to 1987 and 1989 to 1992. She also served as a

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

from 1987 to 1989. Fennell was a leading Women's Rights campaigner in the 1970s when she was part of the

Irish Women's Liberation Movement The Irish Women's Liberation Movement (IWLM) was an alliance of a group of Irish women who were concerned about the sexism within Ireland both socially and legally. They first began after a meeting in Dublin's Bewley's Cafe on Grafton Street in 1 ...

, from which she resigned due to differences of policy in 1971. Fennell was involved in setting up the first refuge for "battered women" in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

. She was involved in the 1975 campaign for the right to divorce in Ireland. She was elected at the 1981 general election to the 22nd Dáil, as a Fine Gael TD for Dublin South. After the election,

entered into a coalition government with the Labour Party, and Fennell was a prominent Fine Gael backbencher.

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christian ...

formed a short-lived following the February 1982 election, but Fine Gael was returned to office later that year following the November 1982 election and Fennell was appointed Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach and Minister of State at the Department of Justice, with responsibly for Women's Affairs and Family Law. She lost her seat at the 1987 general election, and was nominated by the Taoiseach

Garret FitzGerald Garret Desmond FitzGerald (9 February 192619 May 2011) was an Irish Fine Gael politician, economist and barrister who served twice as Taoiseach, serving from 1981 to 1982 and 1982 to 1987. He served as Leader of Fine Gael from 1977 to 1987, a ...

to the

17th Seanad This is a list of the members of the 17th Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the Oireachtas (legislature) of Ireland. These Senators were elected or appointed in 1983, after the November 1982 general election and served until the close of po ...

, in his last days serving as Taoiseach. She was then elected to the 18th Seanad on the

Labour Panel The Labour Panel ( ga, An Rolla Oibreachais) is one of five vocational panels which together elect 43 of the 60 members of Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the Oireachtas (the legislature of Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster S ...

. At the 1989 general election, she was returned to the 26th Dáil, but retired from politics at the 1992 general election.

References

*Fennell, Nuala: ''Nuala Fennell:political woman:a memoir'', Dublin, Currach Press, 2009. {{DEFAULTSORT:Fennell, Nuala 1935 births 2009 deaths 20th-century women Teachtaí Dála 20th-century women members of Seanad Éireann Fine Gael TDs Fine Gael senators Irish birth control activists Irish feminists Irish women's rights activists Members of the 17th Seanad Members of the 18th Seanad Members of the 22nd Dáil Members of the 23rd Dáil Members of the 24th Dáil Members of the 26th Dáil Ministers of State of the 24th Dáil Nominated members of Seanad Éireann Women ministers of state of the Republic of Ireland