Lorraine Clifford-Lee
Lorraine Clifford-Lee (born 22 September 1981) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who has served as a Senator since June 2020, after being nominated by the Taoiseach, and previously from 2016 to 2020 for the Cultural and Educational Panel.[1][2]
Lorraine Clifford-Lee | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Senator | |
| Assumed office 29 June 2020 | |
| Constituency | Nominated by the Taoiseach |
| In office 27 April 2016 – 27 March 2020 | |
| Constituency | Cultural and Educational Panel |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Lorraine Clifford 22 September 1981 Waterford, Ireland |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Political party | Fianna Fáil |
| Spouse(s) | John Lee (m. 2013) |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | University College Cork |
Early and personal life
Clifford-Lee was born in Waterford in 1981. She studied at University College Cork. She lives in Donabate with her husband John Lee and her daughter and son.[3] Her husband is the political editor of the Irish Mail on Sunday newspaper. She is a self-employed solicitor and is a fluent Irish speaker.[4]
Political career
She was an unsuccessful candidate for the Dublin Fingal constituency at the 2016 general election. She polled 3,359 first preferences and was eliminated on the ninth count.[5]
On her election to the Seanad, she was appointed as the Fianna Fáil Seanad Spokesperson for Justice, Children and Youth Affairs. In November 2018, she was appointed Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Seanad.
Clifford-Lee was a candidate in the by-election in Dublin Fingal to fill the seat vacated following Independents 4 Change's Clare Daly election to the European Parliament in May 2019.
At the start of the 2019 Dublin Fingal by-election campaign, Clifford-Lee was forced to apologise for several tweets from 2011, portraying negative and racist attitudes towards travellers and Brazilians.[6] She has refused calls to stand down as a candidate, claiming she is the victim of a smear campaign, while Fianna Fáil did not discipline her.[7] She received 18.5% of the first preference votes, coming second, and was eliminated on the final count. She was also an unsuccessful candidate for Dublin Fingal at the 2020 general election. She lost her senate seat at the 2020 Seanad election, but was restored to Seanad Eireann by virtue of being nominated by the Taoiseach Micheál Martin, her party leader, in June 2020.[8]
References
- "Lorraine Clifford-Lee". Oireachtas Members Database. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
- "Taoiseach Micheál Martin announces his 11 Seanad nominees". thejournal.ie. The Journal. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
- "Lorraine Clifford Lee added to Fianna Fail ticket in Dublin Fingal". Irish Independent. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
- "Election-2016 - Lorraine Clifford-Lee". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
- "Lorraine Clifford Lee". Electionsireland.org. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
- Feehan, Conor (11 November 2019). "Senator apologises for 'Traveller' and 'dwarf' tweets but claims she is victim of smear campaign". Irish Independent.
- "'Very sincere and heartfelt apology': Fianna Fáil's Clifford-Lee has apologised to Traveller organisation for tweets". Journal. 15 November 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- Editor, Fiach Kelly Deputy Political; O'Halloran, Marie. "Nine of Taoiseach's 11 Seanad appointees are women". The Irish Times. Retrieved 28 June 2020.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)