As we celebrate International Women's Day 2022 today, we look at some Dublin women who are not afraid to push boundaries and have have made a real difference in their communities and the wider world.
Ivana Bacik
Dublin South Bay TD Ivana Bacik grew up in the Rathgar/Terenure area but now lives in Portobello with her family.
Bacik attended Trinity College Dublin and The London School of Economics where she obtained a Bachelor of Laws and a Master of Laws degree, respectively.
She is currently tipped to become the new leader of the Labour Party after Alan Kelly resigned last week.
It looks set to be an unopposed run to the Labour Leadership after Aodhan O'Riordain and Duncan Smith both ruled themselves out of the running, pledging their support for Bacik.
This comes just months after Bacik won a seat in Leinster House after coming out victorious in the Dublin Bay South by-election, and she served as a Senator in the Seanad since 2007.
In terms of policies, Bacik has actively supported the increase in cycling infrastructure in Dublin Bay South and "increase green spaces for communities and enhance the water quality and recreational value of Dublin Bay."
Lorraine O'Connor
Lorraine O'Connor is the chairperson of The Muslim Sisters of Eire, which is an independent group of Muslim women living in Ireland who volunteer their time to providing support to vulnerable women and those in need.
Lorraine hails from Coolock, Dublin 5, and founded the group in 2010.
Her goal was to start a predominantly women’s organisation to bring together Muslim women of different nationalities and backgrounds outside of the mosque. Currently, the group has an impressive 100+ members.
Over the Christmas period, the group found themselves to be very busy gathering and distributing food and supplies to families around Dublin.
Kellie Harrington
Olympic boxing champ Kellie Harrington did her country proud at the Tokyo Olympics last August, and this St Patrick's Day she will be one of the grand marshals for the Dublin Parade.
The 31-year-old grew up in Dublin’s inner city on Portland Row, and the beginning of her streak of success came in 2016 when she secured her first major medal for Ireland - taking silver at the World Championships in Astana.
Kellie is a role model for the inner-city kids as she is openly lesbian, as well as frontline worker in a psychiatric hospital.
She delighted her local community in Portland Row and far beyond as she took gold in the lightweight boxing category last August.
Ellen Keane
Clontarf native Ellen Keane won gold at the Paralympics in the SB8 100m breaststroke category.
The 26-year-old born with an undeveloped left arm and competes as an amputee.
She is also studying Culinary Entrepreneurship at Dublin Institute of Technology while training for Paris 2024.
In June 2017 she was honoured by the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Brendan Carr, with a Lord Mayor's Award, which is awarded 'to citizens who, through their ordinary everyday lives, enrich this city in an extraordinary way'.
Ellen is currently competing as a celebrity dancer on this year's season of Dancing With the Stars on RTE, and she will join fellow sportswoman Kellie Harrington as a grand marshal for the Dublin St Patrick's Day Parade.
Sara Phillips
Transgender activist Sara Phillips was born in Dublin, and she is currently in her third 3 year term as chair of the board of directors of Ireland‘s national trans organisation, Transgender Equality Network Ireland (TENI).
Sara has represented the trans community on governmental review bodies and at international conferences.
She has been an activist across many intersectional campaigns over the past 40 years. She also played a leading role in negotiating Gender Recognition based on self-determination in 2015.
More recently, Sara served on the government’s committee for the Gender Recognition Review.
Sara is also a founding member of the Dublin Trans Peer Support Group, and she was honoured as Grand Marshall for Dublin LGBTQ pride in 2018.
Katie McCabe
Kilmanagh native Katie is the captain of the Irish women's national football team, and she also plays for Arsenal.
As a teenager, Katie won the Irish Women's National League title twice as well as the FAI Women's Cup three times with Raheny United.
She signed on to join Arsenal in 2015, and this year she has enjoyed a stellar season with the club.
In 2019, Katie announced that she is in a relationship with fellow player Ruesha Littlejohn.
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