Mary Banotti

Mary Elizabeth Banotti (née O'Mahony; born 26 May 1939) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Dublin constituency from 1984 to 2004.

Mary Banotti
Banotti in 1995
Member of the European Parliament
In office
1 July 1984 – 24 May 2004
ConstituencyDublin
Personal details
Born
Mary Elizabeth O'Mahony

(1939-05-26) 26 May 1939
Malahide, Dublin, Ireland
Political partyFine Gael
Spouse(s)Fabio Bannotti
(m. 1967; div. 1987)
Relations
Children1
Alma materDublin City University
Board member ofInternational Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC); Vice Chair

Early life and education

Banotti was born in Malahide, Dublin, in 1939 to Jim and Kitty O'Mahony.[1] She is a sister of the former Minister Nora Owen and her mother was a niece of the Irish political leader Michael Collins. Living on Seafield Road, Clontarf, she attended a private primary school run by the Misses Walsh, and then the local Holy Faith secondary convent school.[2]

Career

Following her education she worked as a nurse in North America, Europe and Africa,[3] before joining Irish Distillers as an occupational health nurse and Industrial Welfare Officer in 1972. She is divorced for many years from her Italian husband.

Between 1980 and 1984, she presented a weekly programme on social welfare rights and information on RTÉ television. Banotti unsuccessfully contested the 1983 Seanad election and the Dublin Central by-election the same year.[4]

Politics

In 1984, she was elected to the European Parliament,[3] representing the Dublin constituency.[5] She retained her seat until her retirement at the 2004 European elections.[3] She was Fine Gael's candidate in the 1997 presidential election,[3] coming second to Fianna Fáil's Mary McAleese. In 1999, she also was the UNFPA's Goodwill Ambassador on reproductive health.[3]

Philanthropy

Banotti is a member and Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC), a global nonprofit organization that combats child sexual exploitation, child pornography, and child abduction.[6][7][8]

She is also currently the Honorary President of Health First Europe, and a member of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems' board.[3]

References
  1. "Single mother with a liberal agenda". Irish Times. 14 October 1997. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  2. "Clontarf was a bucolic place to go to school, Mary Banotti recalls - and her days there are etched in her mind". Irish Times. 6 September 1997. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  3. "Board". IFES. 2009. Archived from the original on 1 March 2009. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
  4. "Dublin Central by-election, November 1983". ElectionsIreland.org. Archived from the original on 21 February 2011. Retrieved 2 October 2007.
  5. "Mary Banotti". ElectionsIreland.org. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  6. "ICMEC Board Members". icmec.org. Archived from the original on 3 July 2015.
  7. "The President of the European Parliament - Press Releases". europa.eu. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  8. "College scoops award". Independent.ie. Archived from the original on 9 December 2014. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
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