Monica Barnes (née MacDermott), Fine Gael politician who serves as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dún Laoghaire constituency from 1982 to 1992 and 1997 to 2002, is born at Carrickmacross, County Monaghan, on February 12, 1936. She is a Senator for the Labour Panel from February 1982 to November 1982 and a Member of the Council of State from 1991 to 1995.

Barnes is educated at the Louis Convent, Carrickmacross, County Monaghan. After the birth of her first child, she later says she suffers from postpartum depression, a condition largely unrecognised in Ireland at the time. She is told by her doctor to “pull yourself together,” and subsequently she sets up a support group for women suffering from the condition and begins to take an interest in equality and women’s rights. She is a co-founder of the Council for the Status of Women (now the National Women’s Council of Ireland) in 1973, a move which prompts her to fully commit herself to politics.

Barnes unsuccessfully contests the 1981 Irish general election in the Dún Laoghaire constituency, and after a further defeat at the February 1982 Irish general election she is elected to the 16th Seanad as a Senator for the Labour Panel.

Barnes is first elected to Dáil Éireann at the November 1982 Irish general election and retains her seat until losing it at the 1992 Irish general election. She is re-elected at the 1997 Irish general election and retires at the 2002 Irish general election.

Barnes also unsuccessfully contests the European Parliament election for the Leinster constituency in 1979 and 1994.

Barnes dies at the age of 82 on May 2, 2018, at Glenageary, Dublin.

Following Barnes’s death, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar says in a statement, “Monica Barnes was an inspiration for so many people in the Fine Gael party and beyond. She was particularly inspirational for women and younger members of our party. Monica gave great service to Fine Gael and to the people of Dún Laoghaire, having been encouraged to enter the political arena by [former Taoiseach] Garret FitzGerald, as a result of her work in the women’s movement.”

President Michael D. Higgins says, “I am very saddened to learn of the death of former TD and Senator, Monica Barnes, who provided exceptional public service to the people of Dún Laoghaire and Ireland over many years. Monica was a proud feminist and championed women’s rights throughout her parliamentary career and beyond. She was a pioneer in the struggle for a space for women’s rights to be discussed.”

Barnes is credited as a feminist and an advocate of women’s rights. She is seen as having made a critical intervention that led to the passing of the Health (Family Planning) (Amendment) Bill 1985, which gives Irish adults the right to purchase non-medical contraceptives without having to get a doctor’s prescription, which passed the Dáil by a narrow margin.