[1] White was born in Bray, County Wicklow, educated at the Ursuline Convent, Waterford and Trinity College Dublin.

At Trinity, she was a founding member of the English Society and received a Pink (award) for sporting excellence.

She has co-edited a book on walking in the Blackstairs Mountains with Joss Lynam and authored another, Environment, Mining and Politics.

[3][4][5] She resigned as Minister of State on 23 January 2011, when the Green Party withdrew from government.

[2] She was subsequently replaced as Deputy leader of the Green Party by Catherine Martin.