22 Facts About Mary Lou McDonald

1. Mary Lou McDonald has declined to apologise for voicing opposition to any current police commander in the north succeeding the retiring chief constable.

2. Mary Lou McDonald would take Mary Lou and her sister Shari to West Virginia University for gymnastics once a week.

3. Mary Lou McDonald was born in the Year of the Rooster.

4. Mary Lou McDonald was born in 1960s, in the middle of Generation X generation.

5. Mary Lou McDonald was born in Ireland on a Thursday, May 1, 1969.

6. Mary Lou McDonald was warned from several quarters that her comments about the PSNI could jeopardise the interview process.

7. On Monday in Belfast, Mrs Mary Lou McDonald said she would not have confidence in any current member of the Police Service of Northern Ireland's senior leadership team taking the helm of the organisation.

8. Mary Lou McDonald has refused to apologise for voicing opposition to any current police commander in Northern Ireland succeeding the retiring chief constable.

9. Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald said measures aimed at reducing meat consumption in Ireland should not be taken at the expense of family farms.

10. Mary Lou McDonald added that the backstop issue, which has proved  to be the biggest stumbling block among Westminster MPs, was designed in part by the British government.

11. Mary Lou McDonald criticised the government's planning for a no-deal Brexit, calling it "pretty threadbare".

12. Mary Lou McDonald said Stormont should be up and running to stand up to "destructive Tory policies".

13. Mary Lou McDonald was previously a member of Fianna Fail, another Irish republican party, although quit to join Sinn Fein in 1998.

14. Mary Lou McDonald was born in Dublin on May 1, 1969 and is the new president of Sinn Fein.

15. Mary Lou McDonald was the sole nominee for the position with Michelle O'Neill taking the vice presidency.

16. In June 2009, Mary Lou McDonald faced criticism after it emerged her campaign office was selling IRA souvenirs and memorabilia.

17. Mary Lou McDonald lost her seat to Higgins, being eliminated at the fifth count.

18. Mary Lou McDonald was in a tight race for the last seat against Fianna Fail's Eoin Ryan and the Socialist Party leader Joe Higgins.

19. Mary Lou McDonald's was a member of the Public Accounts Committee between 2011 and 2017.

20. Mary Lou McDonald's was re-elected in the 2016 general election topping the poll and taking the first seat in the Dublin Central constituency.

21. Mary Lou McDonald's was an unsuccessful candidate in the Dublin Central constituency at the 2007 general election.

22. On 10 February 2018, Mary Lou McDonald succeeded longtime party leader Gerry Adams after a special ardfheis in Dublin.