There's something about Mary

by Mary Banotti

"What's in a name that was once so popular in Ireland but seems to have fallen out of fashion in recent times?" "If s the first name of the country's two women Presidents to date, of all women ministers in the government that took office after the election of 2007, and of many TDs and senators." "In There's Something about Mary, leading Irish women politicians named Mary (or Maire) speak frankly to former MEP Mary Banotti - herself a veteran of many election campaigns and once dubbed 'gallant loser of the year'. They reflect on the importance of position in the family - many Marys were the eldest child or the eldest girl. They describe what drew them to political life and how they coped with the terrors of selection conventions, elections campaigns and the possibility or reality of defeat."--Jacket.