Mary Flaherty (born 17 May 1953) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Minister of State for Poverty and the Family from 1981 to 1982.
[2] That election saw Fine Gael return to power in a coalition government with the Labour Party, and on her first day in the Dáil Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald appointed Flaherty as Minister of State at the Department of Social Welfare.
She later described her rapid promotion as having caused dissatisfaction amongst some older Fine Gael TDs who resented the rise of a 28-year-old woman.
After leaving the Dáil, she became Chief Executive of the CARI Foundation, a voluntary organisation supporting children affected by child sexual abuse.
In 1980, Flaherty married to Alexis FitzGerald Jnr, later a Fine Gael senator and TD, they had four children.