SURVEY: And the Most Influential Women in Ireland Are…

Which Irish woman rocks your world? Whether it’s in the arena of politics, sport, charity, business or entertainment, our small country is brimming with fearless females happy to pave the way for future generations. Recently, Her.ie surveyed over 9,000 readers during our A Slice of Ireland research, on topics such as equality, reproductive rights, relationships, media consumption and more. One of the open-ended questions we put to our readers was “Who do you consider to be the most influential woman in Ireland?” Taking the lead was the first female president of our country. Mary Robinson made Irish history when she was elected to the highest office in the land in 1990. Throughout her stellar career, Mary has inspired women across the globe. A sizeable 15 per cent of our readers named her the most influential woman in the country. Taking second place, (perhaps something she’s not used to!), was Wicklow native Katie Taylor. The boxer, who we’ve had the pleasure of spending time with recently, is already considered one of our greatest sporting talents of all time, all the more impressive when you consider she is only 28. The Olympic gold medallist is credited with bringing pride to the country in international competition and revitalising the entire sport of boxing in Ireland, particularly for female fans. Third place went to the girl next door, in a sense. Actress and author Amy Huberman has drawn fans across the country with her self-deprecating wit, her multiple talents in the entertainment arena and her willingness to share a peek into her happy home life. It was back to politics for the fourth position on our list, with another former President taking the honours. Mary McAleese, who served the country for back-to-back terms from 1997 to 2011, was once named one of the 100 Most Powerful Women in the World by Forbes magazine. McAleese has drawn praise for her willingness to tackle topics like homophobia and suicide in the public arena. *A Slice of Ireland is a bank of data gleaned by carrying our surveys on all four Maximum Media websites (Her.ie, JOE.ie, HerFamily.ie and SportsJOE.ie during April. Further data from the survey will be published over the coming days on Her.ie.