Hanafin steeped in politics

MARY HANAFIN comes from a family steeped in Fianna Fáil politics.

Growing up in Thurles in Co Tipperary where her family ran the then well-known Anner Hotel, her father Des Hanafin was a senator for over 30 years and a staunch pro-life campaigner. Understandably, given her family background, politics was her passion from a young age.

She trained as a teacher and worked for several years at Sion Hill College in Blackrock, Dublin. Her first run for the Dáil took place in 1989 when she failed to win a seat in Dublin South-East.