Deirdre Clune MEP |
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Clune in 2014
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Member of the European Parliament | |
Assumed office May 2014 |
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Constituency | South |
Senator | |
In office 24 April 2011 – 14 May 2014 |
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Constituency | Cultural and Educational Panel |
Teachta Dála | |
In office May 2007 – February 2011 |
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In office June 1997 – May 2002 |
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Constituency | Cork South–Central |
Lord Mayor of Cork | |
In office 2005–2006 |
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Preceded by | Seán Martin |
Succeeded by | Michael Ahern |
Personal details | |
Born |
Deirdre Barry 1 June 1959 Cork, Ireland |
Nationality | Irish |
Political party |
Irish: Fine Gael EU: European People's Party |
Spouse(s) | Conor Clune |
Children | 5 |
Alma mater | |
Website | deirdreclune |
Deirdre Clune (née Barry; born 1 June 1959) is an Irish Fine Gael politician and Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the South constituency since May 2014. She was previously a member of Seanad Éireann from 2011 to 2014 and was also a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Cork South–Central constituency.
Clune was educated at Ursuline Convent Cork, and qualified as a Civil and Environmental Engineer from University College Cork and Trinity College, Dublin.
Clune was first elected to Dáil Éireann at the 1997 general election succeeding her father, Peter Barry who was retiring. Her grandfather Anthony Barry had also been a TD, making her a third generation member of the Dáil. In the Dáil, she was appointed Fine Gael front bench spokesperson on Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands in June 2000 and spokesperson on Environmental and Consumer Affairs from February 2001.
She lost her seat at the 2002 general election. She also contested the 2002 elections to the 22nd Seanad on the Industrial and Commercial Panel, but was unsuccessful.
She was a member of Cork City Council and became the 68th Lord Mayor of Cork on 27 June 2005.
Clune regained her Dáil seat at the 2007 general election. She was party deputy spokesperson on Enterprise with special responsibility for Innovation from 2007 to 2010. In July 2010, she was appointed as party spokesperson on Innovation and Research.