Mary Lou McDonald Week Three Homework

Read the passage below and use the words from the box to fill in the blanks. Discuss Mary Lou MacDonald with people at home. Research any terms you do not understand.

attended elected studied

office general assumed

constituency homelessness preference unsuccessfully builder

Parliament political opposition

Mary Lou McDonald is the current leader of Sinn Féin, one of Ireland’s largest parties. In November 2017, announced that he was going to stand down as President of Sinn Féin. McDonald was as the next President and the office on 10th February 2018. She previously served as Vice President for Sinn Féin from 2009 to 2018. She has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Central constituency since 2011. From 2004 to 2009 she served as a Member of the European (MEP) for the Dublin constituency.

Mary Lou McDonald was born in , Dublin, on 1st May 1969. Her father was a and surveyor and her mother was a homemaker. She has an older brother called Bernard and younger twin siblings called Patrick and Joanne. Mary Lou Trinity College, Dublin where she completed her bachelor’s degree in English Literature. She industrial relations at and received a Master of Arts degree in Eurpoean Integration Studies from . McDonald first ran for in the 2002 general election, when she contested a seat in Dublin West .

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She became Sinn Féin’s first MEP in the in 2004 when she was elected to the Dublin , serving until 2009 when she lost her seat. She contested the 2007 general in Dublin Central but she was again unsuccessful.

In the 2011 general election Mary Lou was successful, taking a seat in Dublin Central. As a member of Dáil Éireann, McDonald has been effective in to the successive governments, championing causes such as the crisis and health care issues. She retained her seat in the 2016 general election, where she topped the polls in her constituency. Following her election as President of Sinn Féin, she led the party to their biggest electoral success (in modern history), attaining 24.5% of the first votes in the 2020 general election, which placed them ahead of both Fianna Fáil (FF) and (FG), but in an effective three way tie. Ongoing talks between FF and FG on government formation have excluded Sinn Féin.

Mary Lou lives with her husband and children in Cabra, Co. Dublin.

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Mary Lou McDonald is the current leader of Sinn Féin, one of Ireland’s largest political parties. In November 2017, Gerry Adams announced that he was going to stand down as President of Sinn Féin. McDonald was elected as the next President and assumed the office on 10th February 2018. She previously served as Vice President for Sinn Féin from 2009 to 2018. She has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin Central constituency since 2011. From 2004 to 2009 she served as a Member of the (MEP) for the Dublin constituency.

Mary Lou McDonald was born in Rathgar, Dublin, on 1st May 1969. Her father was a builder and surveyor and her mother was a homemaker. She has an older brother called Bernard and younger twin siblings called Patrick and Joanne. Mary Lou attended Trinity College, Dublin where she completed her bachelor’s degree in English Literature. She studied industrial relations at Dublin City University and received a Master of Arts degree in Eurpoean Integration Studies from University of Limerick. McDonald first ran for office in the 2002 general election, when she contested a seat in Dublin West unsuccessfully. She became Sinn Féin’s first MEP in the Republic of Ireland in 2004 when she was elected to the Dublin constituency, serving until 2009 when she lost her seat. She contested the 2007 general election in Dublin Central but she was again unsuccessful.

In the 2011 general election Mary Lou was successful, taking a seat in Dublin Central. As a member of Dáil Éireann, McDonald has been effective in opposition to the successive governments, championing causes such as the homelessness crisis and health care issues. She retained her seat in the 2016 general election, where she topped the polls in her constituency. Following her election as President of Sinn Féin, she led the party to their biggest electoral success in modern history, attaining 24.5% of the first preference votes in the 2020 general election, which placed them ahead of both Fianna Fáil (FF) and Fine Gael (FG), but in an effective three way tie. Ongoing talks between FF and FG on government formation have excluded Sinn Féin.

Mary Lou lives with her husband and their children in Cabra, Co. Dublin.

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