Michelle O'Neill | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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.jpg) O'Neill in 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First Minister of Northern Ireland | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 3 February 2024 Serving with Emma Little-Pengelly | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Paul Givan (2022) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 11 January 2020 – 4 February 2022[a] Serving with Arlene Foster;Paul Givan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Martin McGuinness (2017) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Emma Little-Pengelly (2024) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vice President of Sinn Féin | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 10 February 2018 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| President | Mary Lou McDonald | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Mary Lou McDonald | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Michelle Doris (1977-01-10)10 January 1977 (age 48) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | Sinn Féin | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | Official website | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ^a O'Neill left the role of dFM whenArlene Foster resigned as FM on 14 June 2021. She was reappointed dFM alongside FMPaul Givan on 17 June 2021. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Michelle O'Neill (néeDoris; born 10 January 1977)[1] is an Irish politician who has beenFirst Minister of Northern Ireland since February 2024 andVice President of Sinn Féin since 2018.[2] She has also been theMLA forMid Ulster in theNorthern Ireland Assembly since 2007. O'Neill was previouslydeputy First Minister of Northern Ireland from 2020 to 2022. O'Neill served on theDungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council from 2005 to 2011.
In2007, she was elected to representMid Ulster in theNorthern Ireland Assembly. She served as the first female Mayor ofDungannon and South Tyrone from 2010 to 2011. She has been serving asVice President of Sinn Féin since 2018. In 2011, she was appointed to theNorthern Ireland Executive by deputy First MinisterMartin McGuinness asMinister for Agriculture and Rural Development. In 2016, she was promoted toMinister of Health.[3][4][5][6][7] In January 2020, she became deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland after theNew Decade, New Approach agreement restored the power-sharing executive.
O'Neill automatically relinquished her office followingPaul Givan's resignation as first minister on 3 February 2022.[8] Sinn Féin became the largest party after the2022 Assembly election, putting O'Neill in line for the position of First Minister of Northern Ireland; however she did not take up the position until two years later because theDemocratic Unionist Party (DUP) refused to nominate a deputy First Minister, citing its opposition to theNorthern Ireland Protocol. On 3 February 2024, O'Neill was appointed First Minister of Northern Ireland. This marked the first time that anIrish nationalist had held the title of First Minister in Northern Ireland.[b]
O'Neill was born inFermoy, a town inCounty Cork,Republic of Ireland.[9] She comes from anIrish republican family inClonoe,County Tyrone,Northern Ireland. Her father Brendan Doris was aProvisional IRA prisoner andSinn Féin councillor.[10] Her uncle Paul Doris is a former national president of theIrish Northern Aid Committee (NORAID).[11] A cousin, Tony Doris, was one of three IRA members killed in anambush by the Special Air Service in 1991.[12] Another cousin, alleged IRAvolunteer Gareth Malachy Doris, was shot and wounded during the1997 Coalisland attack.[13]
O'Neill attendedSt. Patrick's Girls' Academy, aCatholicgrammar school inDungannon, Tyrone.[1] She subsequently began to train as anaccounting technician, before pursuing a political career.[1]
O'Neill became involved inrepublican politics in her teens,[10] assisting her father with constituency work in his role as a Dungannon councillor.[11] She joined Sinn Féin after theGood Friday Agreement in 1998, at the age of 21,[1][12] and started working as an advisor toFrancie Molloy in theNorthern Ireland Assembly. She kept this role until 2005,[14] when she was elected to represent the Torrent electoral area onDungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council, taking the seat that had been vacated by her father.[15] O'Neill was elected as anMLA forMid Ulster in the2007 Assembly election, succeeding her Sinn Féin colleagueGeraldine Dougan.[15]
Whilst abackbencher in the Assembly, she sat on Stormont's education and health committees.[16] In 2010, she became Mayor of Dungannon and South Tyrone.[17] O'Neill was the first woman to hold the position of Mayor, as well as one of the youngest people.[10] She held the council position until 2011.[15]
O'Neill succeededMichelle Gildernew asMinister for Agriculture and Rural Development in theNorthern Ireland Executive after the2011 Assembly election.[18] One of her key decisions in the role was the relocation of theDepartment of Agriculture and Rural Development's headquarters from Belfast to a former British Army barracks inBallykelly, County Londonderry in a bid to decentralisecivil service jobs.[19] The decision overruled an internal report on the matter, which recommendedStrabane as a more appropriate location.[1]
In December 2013, theHigh Court quashed a decision by O'Neill to reallocate 7% ofCommon Agricultural Policy funds to rural development projects that had been favoured byenvironmentalists.[20] The court ruled that she was in breach of theMinisterial Code, having not sought the necessary permissions for the transfer from the Executive.[20]
O'Neill replaced the DUP'sSimon Hamilton asMinister of Health following the2016 election. After eight days in office, she announced she would be scrapping thelifetime ban on gay and bisexual men donating blood in Northern Ireland.[21] On 25 October 2016, O'Neill unveiled a document titledHealth and Wellbeing 2026: Delivering Together, a ten-year plan which is based on the findings of the Bengoa Report and aims to modernise thehealth and social care system.[22]
In January 2017, whenMartin McGuinness resigned asdeputy First Minister in protest at theRenewable Heat Incentive scandal, and said that he would not stand in the resultingsnap election, O'Neill was chosen as Sinn Féin's new "party leader in the North".[c][5][25] The fact that she was favoured for the leadership ahead of formerIRA memberConor Murphy marked a notable break in the leadership's direct association with the organisation.[12][26]
In the2017 Assembly election that followed McGuinness's resignation, O'Neill was returned to the Assembly, topping the poll inMid Ulster and with a 20.6% share offirst-preference votes.[27][28] In March 2017, she called for areferendum on thereunification of Ireland "as soon as possible" in response toBrexit.[29] O'Neill led the Sinn Féin side in the inter-party negotiations that followed the election, aiming to restore a power-sharing coalition in Northern Ireland, but said at the end of March that the talks had failed and Sinn Féin would not nominate her for the position of deputy First Minister.[30][31]
In February 2018, O'Neill became vice president ofSinn Féin, succeedingMary Lou McDonald, who became president following the retirement ofGerry Adams.[32] In November 2019 she faced a leadership challenge fromJohn O'Dowd, winning with 67% of the vote.[33]
In January 2020, O'Neill was appointeddeputy First Minister of Northern Ireland.[34] She automatically lost her position on 14 June 2021 whenArlene Foster resigned as First Minister,[35] and regained it three days later when she andPaul Givan were nominated as deputy First Minister and First Minister respectively on 17 June 2021. In February 2022, O'Neill once again lost her position as deputy First Minister with the resignation of Paul Givan as First Minister.[8]
Following the2022 Assembly election,Sinn Féin won the largest number of seats with 27 seats, becoming the largest political party in the Northern Ireland Assembly.[36] Their unionist counterparts, theDemocratic Unionist Party (DUP) came second with 25 seats.[37] As a result of being the largest party, this put O'Neill in line to become the First Minister of Northern Ireland and the DUP leader to become the deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland.[38] However, O'Neill did not take up the position until February 2024 because, as part of its opposition to theNorthern Ireland Protocol, the DUP refused to nominate a deputy First minister and there was therefore no functioning executive of Northern Ireland.[39]
In August 2022, O'Neill was asked in aBBC interview whether it was right duringThe Troubles for the Provisional IRA "to engage in violent resistance to British rule". O'Neill was criticised for her response, including by then DUP leaderJeffrey Donaldson, when she said: "I think at the time there was no alternative, but now thankfully we have an alternative to conflict, and that is the Good Friday Agreement – that is why it's so precious to us all."[40] She added in February 2024, "I think the alternative was the Good Friday Agreement, it was peace, and I'm so glad that we arrived at that position".[41]
In September 2022, O'Neill broke with Republican tradition to attend the funeral ofQueen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.[42]
In May 2023, O'Neill attended thecoronation of King Charles III, saying, "Well obviously I wanted to be here. We live in changing times and it was the respectful thing to do, to show respect and to be here for all those people at home, who I had said I would be a first minister for all. Attendance here is about honouring that and fulfilling my promise."[43]
Under her leadership, Sinn Féin led most NI opinion polls for the2024 United Kingdom general election.[44]
On 30 January 2024, the Democratic Unionist Party announced their willingness to return to power-sharing. This paved the way for O'Neill, as nationalist leader to be sworn in asFirst Minister of Northern Ireland.[45][46][47][48] O'Neill assumed office on 3 February 2024, becoming the first ever Irish nationalist, republican or Catholic to hold that position. In herStormont acceptance speech, she again broke with republican tradition by using the term 'Northern Ireland'. She pledged in her speech to represent all and to show respect to theroyal family.[45][49][50][51] On 5 February, O'Neill held meetings withRishi Sunak,Chris Heaton-Harris,Leo Varadkar and ministers of theNorthern Ireland Executive. High on the agenda is the request for additional financial support for the Northern Ireland government in excess of the £3.3 billion package already pledged from theHM Treasury.[52]
In November 2024, O'Neill became the first senior Sinn Féin figure to take part in an officialRemembrance Sunday ceremony, laying a laurel wreath at theBelfast Cenotaph atCity Hall.[53] A banner was subsequently hung outside her office brandishing O'Neill a "traitor"; police investigated the incident as "hate-motivated".[54]
As First Minister, O'Neill and deputy First MinisterEmma Little-Pengelly published the Northern Ireland Executive's Programme for Government 2024–2027.[55] It highlighted a number of immediate areas requiring priority, including developing a globally competitive and sustainable economy in Northern Ireland, the expansion of Early Learning and Childcare provision, reducing in healthcare waiting times, Additional Support Needs, increasing the available stock ofsocial housing across Northern Ireland and public services reform.[55]
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The Northern Ireland Executive has pledged to support the delivery of the 80% renewable electricity by 2030 target by publishing a final design of a Renewable Electricity Support Scheme.[55] The executive also confirmed that work would begin on the drafting of a new Employment Bill, and thatMinister for the Economy within the executive and the trade board of Northern Ireland will conduct international visits to promote investment in Northern Ireland.[55] O'Neill also confirmed that, subject to approval by the Northern Ireland Executive, work would begin in order to introduce a new Employment Rights act and a Good Work Charter to ensure better quality jobs and promote a healthy work-life balance across Northern Ireland.[55]
As First Minister, O'Neill has pledged for greater strength in the field of Research and Development by "enhancing engagement between universities and business" by pledging additional funding through the Higher Education Innovation Fund.[55] The 2024 executive Programme for Government acknowledged that the "current education system is struggling to keep pace with the changing pupil profile" and acknowledged that the "model of support for children and young people needs significant transformation which requires additional investment".[55] By 2027, the Northern Ireland Executive aims to have a "comprehensive executive agreed Special Educational Needs Reform Agenda and Delivery Plan in place" in order to ensure "improved outcomes for children, their families and the education workforce who support them".[55]
In May 2023, O'Neill pursued a libel action against former DUP councillor John Carson for defamation; this followed a comment he had made on social media in April 2021 and for which he later apologised.[56] In November 2023, theHigh Court ruled, "no award of damages is payable" as her reputation remained intact. The court recognised the comment was "abusive, highly offensive and misogynistic" but concluded it fell short of being defamatory. Both parties were made responsible for their own legal costs amounting to over £12,000 for each litigant.[57] Judge Bell concluded that it was a minor case, that should never have reached the High Court. Carson was suspended by his party for three months, when the local government commissioner for standards, found 'Mr Carson had breached the code of conduct for councillors' and they imposed a similar sanction.[58]
O'Neill became pregnant at the age of 16 and gave birth to her daughter at the same age. She has said she was prayed over at school when she became pregnant.[59] She married Paddy O'Neill when she was 18 and they have two children together. She separated from her husband in 2014. O'Neill became a grandmother in 2023.[60][1][14][61][45]
Northern Ireland Assembly elections
| Year | Constituency | Party | First-preference votes | % | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Mid Ulster | Sinn Féin | 10,845 | 21.0 | Elected |
| 2017 | Mid Ulster | Sinn Féin | 10,258 | 20.6 | Elected[62] |
| 2016 | Mid Ulster | Sinn Féin | 6,147 | 15.1 | Elected[62] |
| 2011 | Mid Ulster | Sinn Féin | 5,178 | 11.9 | Elected |
| 2007 | Mid Ulster | Sinn Féin | 6,432 | 14.5 | Elected |
Media related toMichelle O'Neill at Wikimedia Commons| Northern Ireland Assembly | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of the Legislative Assembly forMid Ulster 2007–present | Incumbent |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development 2011–2016 | Succeeded byas Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs |
| Preceded byas Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety | Minister of Health 2016–2017 | Vacant Office suspended Title next held by Robin Swann |
| Preceded by | Vice President ofSinn Féin 2018–present | Incumbent |
| Preceded by | Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland 2020–2022 | Vacant Title next held by Emma Little-Pengelly |
| Vacant Title last held by Paul Givan | First Minister of Northern Ireland 2024–present | Incumbent |
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