Monica Barnes (née MacDermott; 12 February 1936 – 2 May 2018) [1] was an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dún Laoghaire constituency from 1982 to 1992 and 1997 to 2002.
[1] Her father was a trade unionist who worked at the Gypsum Industries Factory in Kingscourt, County Cavan.
After returning to Ireland, she met and married Bob Barnes and the couple moved to Rathmines, Dublin.
[6] After the birth of her first child, she later said she suffered from post-natal depression, a condition largely unrecognised in Ireland at the time.
[7] Also in 1973, the Irish government requested permission from the European Economic Community (EEC) to delay implementation of the Equal Pay directive when the country joined.
[6] In 1983, she opposed the wording of the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution, which gave equal right to life of the unborn and pregnant women.