Mary Lou McDonald

Mary Lou McDonald TD
McDonald in 2018
Leader of the Opposition
Incumbent
Assumed office 27 June 2020
President	Michael D. Higgins
Taoiseach	Micheál Martin Leo Varadkar Simon Harris
Preceded by	Micheál Martin
President of Sinn Féin
Incumbent
Assumed office 10 February 2018
Vice President	Michelle O'Neill
Preceded by	Gerry Adams
Vice President of Sinn Féin
In office 22 February 2009 – 10 February 2018
President	Gerry Adams
Preceded by	Pat Doherty
Succeeded by	Michelle O'Neill
Teachta Dála
Incumbent
Assumed office February 2011
Constituency	Dublin Central
Member of the European Parliament
In office 1 July 2004 – 20 June 2009
Constituency	Dublin
Personal details
Born	Mary Louise McDonald (1969-05-01) 1 May 1969 (age 55) Churchtown, Dublin, Ireland
Political party	Sinn Féin
Other political affiliations	Fianna Fáil (1998–1999)
Spouse	Martin Lanigan ​ (m. 1996)​
Children	2
Education	Notre Dame School, Dublin
Alma mater	Trinity College Dublin University of Limerick Dublin City University
Website	Official website

Mary Louise McDonald (born 1 May 1969) is an Irish politician who has served as Leader of the Opposition in Ireland since June 2020 and president of Sinn Féin since February 2018. She has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin Central constituency since 2011. She previously served as vice president of Sinn Féin from 2009 to 2018 and a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Dublin constituency from 2004 to 2009.^[1]

On 10 February 2018, McDonald succeeded longtime party leader Gerry Adams as president of Sinn Féin, following a special ardfheis (party conference) in Dublin.^[2] In the 2020 general election, Sinn Féin's performance improved significantly and it was the first time in almost a century that neither Fianna Fáil nor Fine Gael won the most votes. Sinn Féin achieved the second-highest number of seats at 37, one behind Fianna Fáil's 38 seats.^[3]

Following Micheál Martin's appointment as Taoiseach in June 2020, after the formation of a Fianna Fáil, Green Party and Fine Gael coalition, McDonald became Leader of the Opposition. She is the first woman to occupy that position and the first to come from a party other than Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael since the Labour Party's Thomas Johnson in 1927.