Councillor Eibhlin Byrne was elected Lord Mayor of Dublin on 30 June 2008. The Lord Mayor is ex officio a Commissioner of Irish Lights. She subscribed to the oath and took her seat on the Board on 26 September 2008.
Councillor Byrne (Fianna Fáil) was co-opted to Dublin City Council in 2002 and was re-elected to represent the Clontarf Ward in 2004. Her responsibilities on the Council have included membership of:
• the Housing Strategic Policy Group,
• the Lord Mayor's Commission on Crime,
• the Lord Mayor's Commission on Older People,
• the Dublin Regional Authority.
The Lord Mayor believes strongly in a collaborative cross party approach to work on the Council.
Eibhlin Byrne has held distinguished positions in advocacy throughout her career and is currently employed by the Daughters of Charity Child & Family Services as a senior manager with responsibility for 10 family centres around the city. The centres offer therapeutic and counselling services to children and their families.
Previously she held the position of Head of Communication, Advocacy & Policy at Depaul Trust Senior Management Team (Homeless Service), from 2003 to 2006 whilst concurrently holding the Chair of the National Council on Ageing and Older People.
Prior to these appointments the Lord Mayor was a teacher and also ran language programmes between Irish students and young people in France, Germany, Spain, and Italy.
In a personal capacity Councillor Eibhlin Byrne is a Board member of Console, an organisation under the patronage of President Mary McAleese, set up by the families of people bereaved through suicide to help other people experiencing this most tragic loss. She has also recently been appointed a member of the Visiting Committee for Dochas prison. She is married to Ken and has three daughters Clare, Lisa and Aisling.