Margaret Murphy O'Mahony

Margaret Murphy O'Mahony was born in Bandon, County Cork, on 3 April 1969, the small coastal town that later became her first political arena. She served Bandon Town Council from 2004 to 2014, learned the rhythms of local government there, and carried that practice into Cork County Council, the Dáil, and finally the Seanad. The sea air and narrow streets likely shaped her before any ballot did, because she kept returning to the same community even when wider offices called her away.