Pauline O'Reilly

O'Reilly is a qualified solicitor. She is chair of the Galway Steiner National School.

O'Reilly was elected to Galway City Council at the 2019 local elections.^[4]

O'Reilly stood unsuccessfully in Galway West at the 2020 general election. She won 6% of first preference votes and finished ninth in the five seat constituency.^[5][6]

She was elected to Seanad Éireann in 2020 as a senator for the Labour Panel.^[7] She is the Green Party spokesperson for Education and Higher Education.^[8] She is the leader of the Green Party in the Seanad. ^[9]

On 24 March 2021, O'Reilly was one of three Green Party senators to table a motion of no confidence against party chair Hazel Chu, after Chu announced her candidacy in a Seanad by-election as an independent, with O'Reilly stating she does not believe it's appropriate "to run as an independent candidate and also to be a chair of a party that’s in government and is supporting government candidates".^[10]

On 16 December 2021, O'Reilly was elected as Chair of the Irish Green Party, succeeding Chu.^[11] O'Reilly was re-elected to the position of party chair on 26 November 2023.^[12]

O'Reilly was the Green Party's candidate for the Midlands–North-West constituency at the 2024 European Parliament election.^[12] O'Reilly received 13,710 (2.0%) first preference votes but was not elected.^[13]

O'Reilly has two children and practices unschooling with them.^[14][15] Her husband works from home.^[16]