Laura Harmon

Laura Harmon (born 26 November 1986)[1] is an Irish LGBT - and women's rights activist and candidate for the Seanad NUI Panel 2020. She is a former President of the Union of Students in Ireland (USI). She was the first woman to fill the role in twenty years. In 2018, Harmon was Mobilisation team lead for the Together For Yes campaign to repeal the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland.[2][3][4][5]

Laura Harmon
NationalityIrish
Alma materUniversity College Cork
Websitehttps://www.lauraharmon.ie

Political career

A graduate of University College Cork, Harmon served as Vice-President for Equality and Citizenship of the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) from 2012–14. While in this role she co-signed a letter sent to Russia's ambassador to Ireland Maxim Peshkov, titled "Re: Torture of Russian LGBTQ* teenagers".[6]

Harmon would go on to become President of the USI and, in what was described as an "unprecedented move", USI later endorsed her 2016 candidacy for the Seanad.[7] During her tenure as USI president, Harmon played a prominent role in the campaign to legalise same-sex marriage.[8][9][10][11] She was also a board member of the Higher Education Authority (2014–15)[1]

The Labour Party appointed Harmon as its Women and Equality Officer in September 2015, ahead of the 2016 general election.[1][12] She used this role to work on repealing the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland.[1][8]

During the Together For Yes campaign to repeal Eighth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland, Harmon was the lead of the Mobilisation team. This work included organizing a national conversations tour which traveled across Ireland, co-ordinating the Get out The Vote phase of the campaign, organizing regional launches and working on the register to vote campaign.[13][14]

Seanad campaigns

Harmon was an independent candidate for the NUI constituency at the 2016 Seanad election. She announced her decision to contest the election on 2 March 2016.[8] She polled 1,477 votes or 4.1% of first preferences but was not elected, coming in fifth out of thirty candidates. Harmon decided to seek election to the Seanad NUI constituency again in 2020. She polled 2,187 first preference votes or 5.8%, increasing her first preferences since the 2016 election. She polled 11.4% of the overall votes, but wasn't elected.

Personal life

The eldest of five daughters born to Ted and Mary Harmon in the Gaeltacht of Ballyvourney, County Cork, Harmon is openly gay.[12] She was educated through Irish and currently lives in Dublin.[1]

See also

References
  1. Conneely, Darragh (7 April 2016). "Laura Harmon Profile". Cork Independent. Archived from the original on 5 May 2016.
  2. "USI Congress 2014 Elects Laura Harmon as the new USI President". 2 April 2014. Archived from the original on 5 April 2014.
  3. Marnell, Ruth (3 April 2014). "USI elects first female president in 20 years". Archived from the original on 6 May 2016.
  4. Tyaransen, Olaf (15 September 2014). "Laura Harmon Interview". Hot Press.
  5. Conneely, Ailbhe (19 April 2018). "Together for Yes calls on youth to register to vote". RTE.ie. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  6. "Re: Torture of Russian LGBTQ* teenagers" (PDF). 7 August 2013. Article on this (Archive link to same).
  7. Heaphy, Edmund (16 March 2016). "In Unprecedented Move, USI Endorses Laura Harmon and Lynn Ruane for Seanad". The University Times. Archived from the original on 19 March 2016.
  8. McTeirnan, Anthea (2 March 2016). "Former USI president Laura Harmon to run for Seanad". The Irish Times.
  9. "Majority Of Students In Favour Of Gay Marriage". 98FM. 20 January 2015.
  10. Ryan, Órla (18 May 2015). "There has been a HUGE surge in voter registration". TheJournal.ie. Archived from the original on 19 May 2015.
  11. "Irish students' fight for marriage equality honoured". The Outmost. 27 October 2015. Archived from the original on 8 April 2016.
  12. O'Byrne, Ellie (24 March 2016). "We need a Seanad with more diversity". Evening Echo. Archived from the original on 13 April 2016.
  13. Admin (24 May 2018). "Final Referendum Pitch: Yes Side – May 24th, 2018 | Radio Kerry". Radio Kerry. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  14. "122,000 First-Time Voters Encouraged to Register to Vote - Together For Yes". Together For Yes. 24 April 2018. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
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