26 Facts About Grace O'Sullivan

Grace O'Sullivan was born on 8 March 1962 and is an Irish politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament from Ireland for the South constituency from 2019 until 2024.

Grace O'Sullivan is a member of the Green Party, and part of the European Green Party.

Grace O'Sullivan previously served as a Senator for the Agricultural Panel from 2016 to 2019.

Grace O'Sullivan is a former Irish surfing champion and has worked for a number of years as an environmental education specialist and ecologist.

Grace O'Sullivan was born in County Waterford in Ireland, where she grew up in Tramore, close to the back strand and the surrounding countryside, an environment which she says was influential on her life and appreciation of nature and the sea.

Grace O'Sullivan joined Tramore Sea and Cliff Rescue at the age of 16, and by the age of 18 was a helmsman with the Tramore RNLI.

Grace O'Sullivan spent some time as a lifeguard with Waterford County Council, patrolling Tramore beach during the summer months.

Grace O'Sullivan was a keen sportsperson at school, learning to surf where she grew up.

Grace O'Sullivan is a mother of three, an environmental activist and educationalist and a Green Party politician.

Grace O'Sullivan's sister Lola O'Sullivan is a Fine Gael Waterford City and County Councillor.

Grace O'Sullivan spent the next 20 years working with the organisation in areas that included almost 10 years on various Greenpeace ships.

Grace O'Sullivan was a crew member of the original Rainbow Warrior when it was bombed in New Zealand in 1985 by French Intelligence.

Grace O'Sullivan had been sailing from Florida to Hawaii on the Rainbow Warrior, and went to several small island nations in the Pacific Ocean, taking part in actions for peace and climate justice.

In 1986 Grace O'Sullivan famously attempted to board a Soviet warship in the Mediterranean, by climbing up the anchor chain barefoot in an attempt to protest against the nuclear warheads on board.

Grace O'Sullivan has travelled twice to Antarctica as part of Greenpeace's mission to get a seat in the Antarctic Treaty Nations, in order to convince global leaders of having Antarctica protected as a world park, as well as blocking the construction of a French military airstrip on the continent.

Grace O'Sullivan spent a number of years working for Greenpeace at its Amsterdam offices, including time as assistant to Campaign Director and as Human Resources Manager for Greenpeace International.

Grace O'Sullivan was elected as a Senator in 2016, and sat with 5 other senators in the Civil Engagement group.

Grace O'Sullivan is a member of the Green Party in Ireland, and was a member of the Agricultural Panel when she served as a Senator.

Grace O'Sullivan was the Green Party Spokesperson on Tourism and the Marine.

Grace O'Sullivan was a sponsor of the Control of Economic Activity Bill 2018, tabled by Senator Frances Black, which sought to prohibit the import of goods produced on illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Grace O'Sullivan was elected at the 2019 European Parliament election for the South constituency in Ireland.

Grace O'Sullivan was elected on the 18th count after a recount of the votes between her and outgoing MEP Liadh Ni Riada.

Grace O'Sullivan is a member of delegations on Mercosur and Palestine, and a member of a number of intergroups and working groups, including the LGBTI Intergroup, the Disability Intergroup and the Animal Welfare Intergroup.

In 2021, Grace O'Sullivan drafted and tabled a European Parliament Resolution calling for the establishment of two Marine Protected Areas in the Antarctic Southern Ocean.

In 2022, Grace O'Sullivan drafted and tabled a second Resolution, on the topic of ocean governance.

At the 2024 European Parliament elections Grace O'Sullivan received 47,661 first preference votes, and lost her seat.