BIOGRAPHY

Lynn Ruane is from Tallaght and lives in Killinarden with her two daughters.

Before entering politics, she developed community drug services and community initiatives over 15 years in Tallaght and Dublin’s Canal Communities.

As a firm believer in lifelong learning, Lynn has engaged in education for most of her adult life.

After leaving school early, she attended An Cosán in Tallaght at the age of fifteen, before going on to study addiction in several courses. She then returned to full-time education as a mature student; graduating from Trinity College Dublin with an honours degree in Political Science, Philosophy, Economics and Sociology in 2016.

Lynn gained entry to university through the Trinity Access Programme. Lynn is proud of her TAP connection and was delighted to see her eldest daughter also graduate from the access programme and enter Trinity College as an English Literature and Film Studies student in 2018.

Lynn is currently pursuing a Masters in Creative Writing at Dublin City University. She decided to study creative writing as a way to amplify the stories and narratives of those who so often do not get to tell their own story.

While working in addiction services, Lynn also worked with De Paul Ireland across many of their homeless services, mainly low threshold accommodation for street sleepers. She returned to this work while studying for her degree in Trinity.

In 2015, she ran for the position of President of Trinity College’s Students’ Union and was elected. She announced her intention to contest the 2016 Seanad election as an independent candidate while in office and was elected to the Oireachtas at the age of 31.

She has now served as an Independent Senator for Trinity College for four years.

She has worked to take her role beyond just the Seanad chamber and the gates of Leinster House. With the use of Trinity College facilities, she has introduced initiatives like Project Sums, a programme which provides free Leaving Certificate mathematics grinds to students from disadvantaged areas; our tutors now see more than 150 young people every week. In collaboration with TCD’s Dr. Robert Grant, she has founded Philosophy in the Community, a programme based in Rialto which introduces local residents and youth workers to philosophy and encourages them to explore the broader philosophical contexts in which they live and work.

To read about Senator Lynn Ruane’s record to date click here.