Frances Fitzgerald retired as an MEP earlier this year after a stellar political career. Born Frances Ryan in Limerick in 1950, she is a former senator, TD, minister and Tánaiste. All through her career, Fitzgerald has been a tireless advocate on women’s issues. As Minister for Children, she spoke out forcefully against the Catholic Church’s role in covering up child abuse and also ushered through the referendum inserting the rights of children into the constitution. As Minister for Justice, she con- fronted and dealt with a wave of gangland violence be- fore her forced resignation in late 2017. In October 2018, the third interim report of the Disclosures Tribunal found that she had “selflessly” resigned in the national interest.In 2019, she successfully ran for election to the European Parliament in the Dublin constituency. Before being elected a TD, she was the high-profile Chair of the Council for the Status of Women from 1988 to 1992. Frances Fitzgerald has made incredible contributions to civic society. In February, and after months of tough negotiations with the Council of the EU, Fitzgerald secured a historic deal for a new EU law to combat violence against women and domestic violence. This first-ever piece of EU legislation focuses on the pro- tection, prevention and prosecution of violence against women and domestic violence in Europe. This directive will give women the same level of protection across Europe regardless of the member state they reside in.
