13 Facts About Niamh Cosgrave

Niamh Cosgrave was born on 9 October 1964 and is a former Fine Gael politician from Dublin, Ireland.

Niamh Cosgrave campaigned for victims of the Hepatitis C blood contamination scandal, and was the subject of a book on this.

Niamh Cosgrave was briefly a member of Seanad Eireann, the upper house of the Irish parliament, and, for several years, of Dublin City Council, which, in a very rare move, removed her for non-attendance.

Niamh Cosgrave later moved to France, where she survived a serious attack; she was the subject of a TV documentary.

Niamh Cosgrave immediately presented for testing and tested positive for hepatitis C Niamh Cosgrave then began a campaign to have women that received the product in 1991 recognised.

Niamh Cosgrave gave interviews and appeared on The Late Late Show in support of her representation of victims.

Niamh Cosgrave was one of the first victims to undergo experimental treatment with interferon and, despite advice to the contrary, went on to have two more, healthy, children.

Niamh Cosgrave was very briefly a member of Seanad Eireann - after standing unsuccessfully in the Dublin North-Central constituency at the 1997 general election, she was one of eight new senators nominated by the Taoiseach, John Bruton, to the 20th Seanad on 13 June 1997 to replace senators who had been elected to the 28th Dail.

At the 1999 local elections, Niamh Cosgrave was elected to Dublin City Council as a councillor for the Donaghmede electoral ward, which included Donaghmede and Raheny.

Niamh Cosgrave was re-elected in the 2004 local elections, but in July 2005, the Fine Gael party withdrew the party whip from her after she absented herself when Dublin councillors were electing the next Lord Mayor of Dublin, a role for which she had sought the party nomination herself.

In June 2006, it was revealed that Niamh Cosgrave had the worst attendance record of any city councillor, with presence at just 17 out of 33 meetings over the preceding two years.

Around the time of her removal from Dublin City Council, Niamh Cosgrave, who had been living in Raheny, was reported to have moved to France.

Niamh Cosgrave later took part in a documentary called Unbreakable aired by TV3.