Catherine Martin

Catherine Martin (born 30 September 1972) is an Irish Green Party politician who has served as Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media since June 2020 and deputy leader of the Green Party since June 2011. She has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin Rathdown constituency since 2016. Personal life Martin was born in 1972 and is a native of Carrickmacross, Monaghan. She studied at Maynooth University. She was a teacher of English and Music, and the head of the Green Schools Committee at St. Tiernan's Community School in Dundrum for 15 years prior to being elected to the Dáil. She is married to Francis Noel Duffy, also a Green Party TD and they have three children together. Catherine and Francis first met in 1999 during a local election in their native Carrickmacross in County Monaghan, where Catherine's brother Vincent P. Martin and Francis' father were both campaigning for office. Vincent is also a member of the Green Party. In June 2020, Vincent became a Senator on the Green Party entering government. Political career Green Party She joined the Green Party in 2007. In 2009, her brother, Vincent, began a hiatus from politics and as a result Catherine was co-opted to Vincent's seat on the Monaghan County Council. Catherine in turn vacated the seat on the death of the Martins' mother and co-opted it to local green party member Darcy Lonergan. She was elected as deputy leader of the Green Party in 2011 simultaneous to Eamon Ryan becoming leader. In 2014, she was elected to Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council, and was elected to the Dáil following the 2016 general election, after receiving 4,122 first preference votes.