Michelle Angela Gildernew[1] (born 28 March 1970)[2] is an Irish Sinn Féin politician from County Tyrone, Northern Ireland.

[4] During the 1960s, the family were leading figures in the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association and took part in a 1968 protest in Caledon, County Tyrone over housing discrimination.

According to the Times Guide to the House of Commons, Gildernew was popular across the sectarian divide in one of Northern Ireland's most polarised constituencies.

Gildernew supported John O'Dowd's unsuccessful bid to become Vice President of Sinn Féin at the party's ard fheis.

[14] In September 2011, the Belfast Telegraph reported that Sinn Féin was considering Gildernew as their candidate for that year's Irish presidential election.

In a July 2012 interview for The Impartial Reporter, Gildernew defended embattled businessman Seán Quinn, saying that "[h]e has been treated disgracefully by the Irish Government.

Had they not tried to strip him of all his assets, including his home, deny him the ability to function in business, and routinely try to humiliate him I believe he would have paid back every penny he owed to the Irish taxpayer".

[18]) Sinn Féin distanced themselves from Gildernew's comments with Mary Lou McDonald stating that Seán Quinn had engaged in illegal business practices.