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Lynn Boylan
Lynn Boylan (Irish: Lynn Ní Bhaoighealláin; born 29 November 1976) is an Irish Sinn Féin politician who has been a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Ireland for the Dublin constituency since July 2024. She was previously an MEP for Dublin from 2014 to 2019.[1][2] From 2020 to 2024, she served as a Senator for the Agricultural Panel.[3] Early lifeBoylan grew up in the Kilnamanagh area of Tallaght.[4] Initially studying journalism and gaining a certificate, she went on to earn post-graduate qualifications from University College Dublin in Environmental Impact Assessment and European Environmental Conservation Management.[4] Early political career.jpg) In 2005, Boylan moved to County Kerry while working as a coordinator for the Irish Wildlife Trust at Killarney National Park. That same year she joined Sinn Féin. Under her Irish-language name Lynn Ní Bhaoighealláin,[5] she stood at the 2007 general election as the Sinn Féin candidate in the Kerry South constituency.[6] With only 3.5% of the first-preference votes, she was eliminated on the first count.[6] At the 2009 local elections, she stood for the Killarney local electoral area of Kerry County Council, but was again unsuccessful.[5] She attributed her defeats to being an outsider: "As a Dub in Kerry the odds were stacked against me", she told The Irish Times in 2014.[5] Boylan returned to Dublin in 2011 to work in Ballymun,[4] for the Global Action Plan, an environmental initiative funded by Ballymun Regeneration.[7] In 2010, she was appointed as chair of the advisory board of Safefood.[7] In September 2013, Boylan was selected as the Sinn Féin candidate for the Dublin constituency at the 2014 European Parliament election.[8] She then left her job, and as a candidate was paid a wage by Sinn Féin during the campaign.[5] Boylan began her campaign "practically anonymous", according to Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams.[8] By April, Boylan was still described by the Irish Independent newspaper as a "political unknown".[9] Instead of raising her media profile, Boylan's campaign concentrated on canvassing, mostly door-to-door rather than the busier shopping centres.[8] Despite the lack of media exposure, by late May the polls showed Boylan in the lead.[5] In the election on 23 May, Boylan won 23.6% of the first preference votes, and was elected on the third count.[6] As the election count pointed towards Boylan's win, the Fianna Fáil candidate Mary Fitzpatrick asked: "Who could have said somebody would come from nowhere, no track record in Dublin, and still take the lead and steal the first seat and probably have a surplus?".[7] Member of the European ParliamentBoylan was a campaigner[10] for the release of Ibrahim Halawa, an Irish citizen from Firhouse in South Dublin who was imprisoned in Egypt between 2013 and 2017[11] and was adopted by Amnesty International as a prisoner of conscience.[12] In March 2015, Boylan described Halawa as an "Irish-speaking, GAA-playing Dublin lad", and asked if the Irish Government would do more if his name was "Paddy Murphy".[13] In December 2015, Boylan sponsored a motion in the European Parliament calling Halawa's release. She introduced his two sisters to the Parliament before the vote, which passed by over 560 votes to 11.[11] She lost her seat at the 2019 European Parliament election. In December 2023, it was announced that Boylan would run for the European Parliament again in 2024, alongside Daithí Doolan.[14] On 11 June 2024, Boylan was elected to the European Parliament as MEP for Dublin, taking the third seat of four.[2] She took office on 17 July 2024.[15] SenatorBoylan was elected to the Seanad in April 2020 as a Senator for the Agricultural Panel. She was the Sinn Féin candidate at the 2021 Dublin Bay South by-election.[16] She was not elected, getting 4,245 first-preference votes (15.8%).[17] Personal lifeBoylan is the partner of Eoin Ó Broin, who has been the Sinn Féin TD for Dublin Mid-West since 2016.[18] They live in Clondalkin, County Dublin. References
External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lynn Boylan.
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