Nationality: | Irish |
Office: | Dublin City Councillor |
Term Start: | 1977 |
Term End: | 2024 |
Constituency: | Kimmage–Rathmines |
Office2: | Lord Mayor of Dublin |
Term Start2: | July 1999 |
Term End2: | July 2000 |
Predecessor2: | Joe Doyle |
Successor2: | Maurice Ahern |
Party: | Labour Party |
Birth Date: | 22 July 1946 |
Birth Place: | Ballyconnell, County Cavan, Ireland |
Mary Freehill (born 22 July 1946) is a former Dublin City Councillor, who served as the Lord Mayor of Dublin during the Millennium year from 5 July 1999 to 3 July 2000.[1] [2] [3] She was a Labour Party councillor on Dublin City Council from 1977 to 2024.[4]
Freehill was born and went to school in the town of Ballyconnell, County Cavan. Her parents were Bernard Freehill, a building contractor and Kathleen Freehill (nee Donohoe) of Daisy Hill, Ballyconnell. She is a second cousin of Vin Scully, the former long-time play-by-play announcer for Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers.[5]
Freehill was elected to the city council in 1977 to 1985 for Pembroke electoral area and was re-elected for Rathmines electoral area in 1991. She was re-elected at each subsequent local election (1999, 2004, 2009, 2014, 2019) for the same area. She was an unsuccessful Labour Party candidate for Dublin South-East at the 1977 and 1981 general elections, and for Dublin Central at the 1987 general election.[6]
As Lord Mayor of Dublin City, she awarded the Freedom of the City to Nobel Peace Prize winner and Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and also to the band U2.[7]
Freehill did not contest the 2024 Dublin City Council election.[8]