[3] She has served as financial secretary of the Labour Party, which was the junior member of the 2011 coalition government formed with Fine Gael.
[5] Her appointment as Attorney General of Ireland caused some surprise amongst lawyers because she had a relatively low profile, owing to practising in areas of law where many cases are heard in camera.
[16] Notwithstanding the controversy, Whelan did not withdraw her name for consideration and was rapidly appointed a Judge of the Court of Appeal by the President of Ireland on 19 June 2017.
[17] After her appointment and declaration, when she was already a sitting judge, her ability was the subject of exchanges between Micheál Martin and Leo Varadkar in Dáil Éireann leading to fears over the stability of the government.
[18] These exchanges led to what was seen as a public rebuke of the Taoiseach and Martin by the then Chief Justice of Ireland, Susan Denham, defending the independence of the judiciary.