Mary Coughlan

Quick Facts

Full Name	Mary Coughlan
Occupation	Politician
Date Of Birth	May 28, 1965(1965-05-28)
Age	59
Birthplace	Donegal
Country	Ireland
Horoscope	Gemini

Mary Coughlan Biography

Mary Coughlan is one of the most popular and richest Politician who was born on May 28, 1965 in Donegal, Ireland. Coughlan was born in Donegal town in the south of County Donegal in 1965. Her father was Cathal Coughlan, a Fianna Fáil TD, who died in office in June 1986. She was educated at the Ursuline Convent in Sligo, where she was a boarder from 1978 to 1983 and later at University College Dublin, graduating with a Social Science degree. She worked as a social worker for a brief period before becoming involved in politics.

In February 2001, Coughlan received her first ministerial position, that of Minister of State (Junior Minister) at the Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands (with responsibility for the Gaeltacht and Islands). In this role for just sixteen months, she was responsible for securing Government approval for the general scheme of the Official Languages Equality Bill, which aimed to confirm the language rights of citizens and outline their rights when dealing with the State in either official language. She also oversaw the coming-into-force of an amended Gaeltacht Housing Act, updating the supports available for Irish-speaking households building in or moving to the Gaeltacht. The Commission on Irish in the Gaeltacht (Comisiún na Gaeltachta) also completed its work under her guidance and Coughlan saw its report approved and published. During her time in this role, she also established a Working Group on the Creation of Employment in the Gaeltacht. In addition, during her tenure Coughlan oversaw significant investment in island infrastructure and in the connection of islands to the national electricity grid, including Inishbofin Island, off the County Donegal coast, which was connected for the first time in 2002 by using an underwater cable from the mainland.

After the 2002 general election Coughlan was promoted to the cabinet as Minister for Social and Family Affairs. Her time in Social and Family Affairs saw increases in social welfare payments and the extension of family supports. She established the Family Support Agency with a mandate to support families, promote stability in family life, prevent marital breakdown and foster a supportive community environment for families at a local level.

During her time as Minister for Social and Family Affairs, Coughlan became involved in a number of LGBT rights controversies. In March 2004, she introduced the Social Welfare Amendment Act 2004 in response to a case involving same-sex partner benefits. Under the Equal Status Act, 2000, a gay pensioner successfully petitioned the Equality Authority to allow his male partner to travel as his ‘spouse’ using the pensioner’s travel pass. The legislation which Coughlan subsequently produced limited the meaning of the word ‘spouse’ to include only married couples; this was regarded by the Opposition parties and LGBT rights campaigners as discriminatory towards same- sex couples as there had been no legal recognition of same-sex unions in the Republic of Ireland at the time. Two months later, Coughlan caused comment at a European Union conference on family and social policy by stating that Ireland would never be ready for same-sex marriage or gay adoption.

She remained on the backbenches of the Dáil for the first thirteen years of her career as a TD, before being appointed a junior Minister. During this period she served on a number of Oireachtas committees, including the Joint Committee on Tourism, Sport and Recreation and the Joint Committee on the Irish language where she served as Chairperson. Coughlan was also a member of the British-Irish Parliamentary Body. In 1994, Bertie Ahern became leader of Fianna Fáil and Leader of the Opposition. In early 1995 he named his new front bench, including Coughlan as Spokesperson on Educational Reform. She served in this position until 1997 but was not included in the cabinet or junior ministerial team when the party came to power.

Mary Coughlan Net Worth

Mary Coughlan is one of the richest Politician from Ireland. According to our analysis, Wikipedia, Forbes & Business Insider, Mary Coughlan 's net worth $5 Million. (Last Update: December 11, 2023)

Mary Anne Coughlan (born 28 May 1965) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Tánaiste from 2008 to 2011, Deputy Leader of Fianna Fáil from 2008 to 2011, Minister for Health and Children from January 2011 to March 2011, Minister for Education and Skills from 2010 to 2011, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment from 2008 to 2010, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food from 2004 to 2008, Minister for Social and Family Affairs from 2002 to 2004 and Minister of State for the Gaeltacht and the Islands from 2001 to 2002. She served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Donegal South-West constituency from 1987 to 2011.

Coming from a political family, Coughlan was always interested in politics, and joined a local party branch at the age of 16. She was first elected to Dáil Éireann at the 1987 general election as a Fianna Fáil TD for the Donegal South-West constituency. At the age of 21 years and nine months, Coughlan was the youngest member of the 25th Dáil. Her uncle Clement Coughlan was a TD from 1980 until his death in 1983 in a road traffic accident, while her father Cathal Coughlan was a TD from 1983 to 1986 when he died after a short illness. The death of her father resulted in Coughlan being co-opted onto Donegal County Council in 1986, which launched her own political career.

Coughlan received criticism for changes she made regarding the availability of rent supplement. This was portrayed as targeting the weaker sections of society at a time when the Irish economy was reasonably strong. She was also widely criticised for cuts she made as Minister to entitlements for widows and widowers after the death of a spouse. The cuts were part of a wider drive for a reduction in government spending in autumn 2002. However, many considered these and other similar cutbacks to have been forced upon her by Charlie McCreevy, who was Minister for Finance at the time, and who was blamed for many of his decisions. She was also involved in resolving a dispute over payments with the country’s dentists.

Height, Weight & Body Measurements

Mary Coughlan height Not available right now. Mary weight Not Known & body measurements will update soon.

Who is Mary Coughlan Dating?

According to our records, Mary Coughlan married to David Charlton. As of December 1, 2023, Mary Coughlan’s is not dating anyone.

Relationships Record : We have no records of past relationships for Mary Coughlan. You may help us to build the dating records for Mary Coughlan!

During her time in Social and Family Affairs, Coughlan produced a report discussing new definitions of ‘the family’ which recommended a more progressive approach to the matter. This influenced the Government’s 2008 civil union legislation.

Facts & Trivia

Mary Ranked on the list of most popular Politician. Also ranked in the elit list of famous people born in Ireland. Mary Coughlan celebrates birthday on May 28 of every year.

Coughlan acted to clean up years of wasteful spending by executives at the state training and employment agency, FÁS, and was considered to have taken a tough line with Director General, Rody Molloy, who was forced to resign in November 2008.

Is Mary Coughlan still married?

Mary Coughlan has opened up about her marriage split from husband Frank Bonadio.

Is Mary Coughlan in a relationship?

Mary has since moved on to find love with New Zealander John Kelly , who works in lighting, more than a decade ago now. But Mary knows she’s lucky to be still alive. She confessed: “I almost died from drinking. I think it was 32 times that I was hospitalised for alcohol poisoning.”

Where does Mary Coughlan live now?

Currently living in the foothills of the Wicklow mountains , Mary’s story does have a happy ending.

How long is Mary Coughlan sober?

“She wasn’t ‘the other woman’,” Coughlan says. “He’d had an affair with the nanny and I couldn’t stay with him. I sold him my house as I couldn’t bear to stay in it any longer. “I was with him 16 years and for 11 of those years , I was sober.

How old is Mary Coughlan singer?

66 years (May 5, 1956)