Pauline O’Reilly: the Green voice of Galway

In Irish politics, there is a Galway figure well-known for her unwavering commitment to environmental advocacy and sustainable policies: Pauline O’Reilly. 

After a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and Sociology at the University College in Dublin, Ms O’Reilly studied at the Law Society of Ireland and became a solicitor. She came to Galway to start her apprenticeship in Law. After 16 years in the ‘City of Tribes’, she entered politics.

 

So why did you start a career in politics?

 

“Well, I never intended to. I don’t have a family background in politics. Politics was new to me, but I guess I was very involved in activism and interested in getting things going for my community. I was part of setting up a school in Galway, part of setting up a kindergarten, setting up national organisations, local organisations, and I would have to, on occasion, lobby politicians to ask them to do things for me.

I found out that the Greens were the only one who were on the same wavelength as me. So I just felt that there has to be that Green voice in Galway.

I joined the Green Party in 2015, before an election, to try and help to get somebody elected here in Galway. The Green Party was very small at the time, maybe only two people going to meetings. Following that, because I’m probably a bit of an organiser, I tried to get more happening around the Green Party and eventually I decided to run for local politics.

I was asked: ‘Would you run for the general election?’ and I said, ‘Oh I’m not so sure about that.’

It was very nerve-wracking to put yourself out there, but we thought that there’d be a general election before the local election so I said, ‘Okay.’ But then, as it transpired, I was kind of used to politics at that stage and I was fine running.”

 

And so how do you go into politics when you don’t have any background?

 

“The Green Party is very much a grassroots kind of party. You know, most political parties will have a local organisation. So like, you join the party and then you start going to meetings, and you see what you can do.

For me, it was trying to get policy done. Eventually, I remember Eamonn Ryan coming to Galway and saying that the way to affect change is by getting elected. We need people on the council. So, that’s what needed to be done. And then I worked really, really hard and said, well, you know, ‘I’m not just going to let the others take this seat. I’m going to take this seat and just make it happen.'”

 

You are fighting for the environment, but you are also fighting for humans and women’s rights. Is everything linked for you?

 

“I’m very passionate. I mean, fundamentally, I think deep down, if everybody wanted to examine their politics, I think everybody would be Green. I think social justice goes very much hand in hand with environmental justice. We’re part of an ecology. We have to treat each other with respect and unfortunately a lot of our laws are not aligned.

I’m very passionate about women’s rights. I’ve done quite a lot since I’ve been elected.

I’ve done quite a lot of pieces of legislation. One around character witnesses at sexual assault and rape trials. The law, up to this point in Ireland, has been that people can put forward a character witness. Once somebody has been convicted of rape or sexual assault, they can get people to say, ‘Hey he’s such a great guy,’ and they can’t be challenged on it. They can’t be cross examined on it and they can’t necessarily have to come before the court and answer questions so there’s no accountability and no need for it to be true.

I think two things: it puts pressure on people in the local community to come forward, and the second thing, obviously, is that it stops women from coming forward themselves because they know that this is what is going to happen. I’ve worked with other senators across parties, the three of us were leaders in the Seanad, and so we got a piece of legislation passed on that. I am very proud about that.

And also free contraception for women and girls under the age of 31, that was us in the Green Party. I put forward a motion to make sure that it happened during the lifetime of this government. And I’m working on HRT [hormone replacement therapy] at the moment.

I also worked on repeal, so on abortion rights. I was trying to push for more and I worked on a cross-party bill to stop people from protesting outside abortion centres. Now, we did get that over the line through pressure. So yeah, there’s loads of bits and pieces like that.”

 

You’re really involved in the March referendum and with the National Women’s Council in Ireland. Is your next challenge the referendum?

 

“Yes, I’m really passionate about this referendum. It means a lot to me to make sure that women, regardless of where they are, whether they’re working outside the home, inside the home, or studying: that they don’t have something referred to in the Constitution which is talking about neglecting your duties if you’re outside the home. So, that’s why I am working on this. And I’m the Director of Elections for the Green Party for this referendum.

And the other piece that’s really, really important is that lone parent families haven’t been recognised in the Constitution. The family is based on marriage and we need to get that out of the Constitution so that it’s based not just on marriage, but on other forms of relationships.

These referendums are coming up on the 8th of March. We’ve got the political parties, we’ve got our campaign, but we’re working hand-in-hand with organisations like the National Women’s Council and other organisations to all work together trying to pass this, as we’ve done in previous referendums. So, it is very involved in repeal as well.”

 

And now the European elections are coming too, so I guess, even if it’s a bit early, you already have so much to handle right now.

 

“Yeah, it’s a lot but I suppose once you’re passionate about something, no matter what you’re passionate about, you kind of throw yourself into it.

I’m passionate about getting representation at every level. Ireland has three constituencies for the European elections.

Unlike other European countries, we don’t have a list system. What happens in other systems is people vote for the political party. So say they vote for the Green Party or they vote for EPP [European People’s Party] or whoever it is, whereas in Ireland you vote for the person. So we have these elections coming up in three constituencies. I’m the Green candidate in this area and then my colleagues who were elected last time, one in Dublin and one in Ireland South, are running in their constituency.

It’s really important to get somebody elected here but we have a good chance. You know, because of Brexit, we have one extra seat now, in Ireland, and that extra seat has gone to this constituency, my constituency. It moved from 4 seats to 5 seats. It means that small parties, like the Green Party, have a much better chance in a constituency with a large number of seats.”

 

You were saying that you’re fighting for representation at all levels. How is it in your personal life? Is it hard to be in politics when you’re a mom?

 

“I mean it is hard, there’s a lot of balancing. I guess one of the things I feel is that, on hard days it’s important to remind yourself why you’re doing it.

I think that one of the things about running for the Green Party is that, because I’m passionate about the environment and I’m passionate about social justice it makes it that bit easier. I feel like this isn’t about a career, it’s about doing something that will leave a legacy. Not just for my children, but for children in general who I feel don’t have a voice and can’t vote.

It’s important that people stand up for their rights and that’s why I’m doing it.”

 

I’ve heard also that your children are homeschooled. Is it because you wanted to give them this passion and closeness to nature that you chose this type of education?

 

“My kids were homeschooled but they’re now no longer homeschooled. So they’re both now going to the Educate Together in Galway secondary school. I’m really passionate as well about having non-denominational forms of education. So that’s really good to see. This is the first Educate Together secondary school in Galway. But before that, my younger daughter went to Steiner School, which I was involved in setting up in Galway, which is a school based on nature. They used to go out to the woods every Friday, spend the day in the woods on Fridays.”

 

Would you like that to be practiced in schools all around the country?

 

“Yeah, I think it’s really important because you can’t care for something that you don’t know and love. I think that being in touch with nature is the best way to foster a love of environmentalism, protecting the planet and seeing all species as equally important.”

 

What would you like to feel in a month’s time?

 

“I’d like to feel determined. I know what it feels like to run for election, I know what it feels like to win, and I know what it feels like to lose, and I don’t want to lose. So I want to feel, yeah, determined and wake up every morning and feel just as passionate as the previous day, because that’s the way to win.

That’s the best way that you can get your policies over the line, but to get your policies over the line you need to be sitting there and have a seat.”