Máire Geoghegan-Quinn Irish Tatler "Woman of the Year 2010 Overall"

IRISH TATLER WOMAN OF THE YEAR OVERALL

MAIRE GEOGHEGAN QUINN

Mention Irish women in politics and Máire Geoghegan-Quinn instantly comes to mind. The current European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science, a post she was appointed to earlier this year, has a political career that spans four decades and she has never been one to shy away from controversial topics. She served as a Fianna Fail TD for the Galway West constituency from 1975 to 1997, and in 1979 was the first woman to be appointed as a Cabinet Minister since the creation of the state. She held the position of minister until 1981.

From 1975 to 1997, Maire served as the Irish Government Minister with responsibility for European Union Affairs, overseeing the preparation for the Irish Presidency of the European Union in 1990.

A post as Minister for Tourism, Transport and Communications followed in 1992 to 1993 before moving on to Minister for Justice from 1993 to 1994,
introducing substantial law reform legislation, including the decriminalisation of homosexuality. She was also one of the key negotiators of the Downing Street Declaration.

When Albert Reynolds resigned in November 1994, she was seen as his preferred successor for the leadership of the party. She stood against Bertie Ahern and a win would have made her the first female Taoiseach. On the day of the vote, however, she withdrew from the contest 'in the interests of party unity.'

Between 1997 and 2000, she served as non-executive director of Aer Lingus and the Ryans Hotel Group, was a member of the Board of the Ganley Group and wrote a columnist for The Irish Times.

In 2000 however she was back in the public limelight after being appointed to the European Court of Auditors, replacing former TD Barry Desmond.

Maire was subsequently appointed for a second term at the Court of Auditors in March 2006. Her most recent career achievement was in 2009 when she was nominated by the Taoiseach Brian Cowen to become Ireland's European Commissioner, and she was subsequently allocated the Research, Innovation and Science portfolio.

A pioneering woman in public life in Ireland, Maire Geoghegan Quinn can also add author to her list of talents, as in 1996 she wrote The Green Diamond, a novel about four young women sharing a house in Dublin in the 1960s.

Maire has succeeded in combining a flourishing career with a content family life. A qualified teacher from County Galway, she is married to John Quinn, with whom she has two children.

For her outstanding achievements in politics, the longevity of her career and iconic feminist status, and her appointment as the first female member of the EU Commission, we award Maire Geoghegan Quinn the overall Irish Tatler Women of the Year 2010.

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