LAST UPDATE | 11 May

TAOISEACH SIMON HARRIS has paid tribute to former MEP Mary Banotti following her death at the age of 84.

Banotti served as an MEP for Dublin from 1984 to 2004 and was Fine Gael’s candidate in the 1997 presidential election.

Reacting to her death, Harris said: “Mary was a talented politician, a trailblazer and a joy to be around. She was smart, wise and funny.”

Banotti was the grandniece of Michael Collins and a sister of Nora Owen, former deputy leader of Fine Gael.

She was the eldest of six children in a family from Clontarf in Dublin. Before her political career, she worked as a nurse in London, the United States, Canada and Kenya.

Banotti was a former TV presenter and a co-founder of Women’s Aid, which opened Ireland’s first women’s refuge. She served as chairperson of the Rutland Centre for Drug Abuse.

Banotti also focused on environmental issues and was named one of the top 10 environmental legislators in Europe.

In his tribute, Harris said: “Mary did so much with her life and had so much to be proud of, but she was humble.

Her energy was boundless and she always had a nugget of wise political insight or a witty observation.

“Mary was extremely proud of her family. She was proud to be a grandniece of Michael Collins and proud to see her sister, Nora Owen, become deputy leader of Fine Gael.

“She was enormously proud of her daughter Tania and my heartfelt thoughts are with Tania, Nora and wider family.”

‘A very significant contribution to Irish life’

President Michael D Higgins also paid tribute, saying Banotti “made a very significant contribution to Irish life” through both her 20 years as a Member of the European Parliament and “the many important causes” she supported. 

“I had the privilege of personally knowing Mary over a number of decades and had the deepest respect for her principled positions on these important issues,” Higgins said in a statement issued this afternoon. 

“Among those many noteworthy contributions and achievements were those she made as a co-founder of Women’s Aid, as chairperson of the Rutland Centre for Drug Abuse, in combating child abduction and in support of the environment.

“May I extend my deepest sympathies to Mary’s daughter Tania, to her sister Nora Owen and to all of her extended family, and to her many colleagues and friends across Ireland, Europe and beyond.”