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Mary Lou McDonald is an Irish politician who serves as President of Sinn Féin and as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin Central constituency.
McDonald became leader of Sinn Féin in February 2018, having previously served as the party's deputy leader. She was first elected to Dáil Éireann in 2011 and has held a number of senior party responsibilities, including spokesperson roles covering public expenditure and reform, and mental health and suicide prevention.
Before entering the Dáil, McDonald represented Dublin in the European Parliament from 2004 to 2009, where she served on committees including Employment and Social Affairs and Civil Liberties.
She was educated at Trinity College Dublin, the University of Limerick and Dublin City University, studying English literature, European integration studies and human resource management. Before her parliamentary career she worked in consultancy, research and training roles.
As Sinn Féin leader, McDonald has been a prominent advocate of Irish reunification and has pressed for political and governmental preparation for potential constitutional change on the island of Ireland.
Former prime minister Gordon Brown has predicted that Ireland will eventually be united, just days after Andy Burnham said a referendum on Irish unity was 'off the table'.
Andy Burnham has declared an Irish unity referendum 'off the table' during his first visit to Northern Ireland as Prime Minister, prompting a sharp challenge from Sinn Féin over the Good Friday Agreement.