Who is Mairead McGuinness, who is her husband, how many are there in her family and has she always been in politics?

Irish MEP Mairead McGuinness has been appointed as Phil Hogan’s replacement at the European Commission.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen appointed the Louth woman as Ireland’s next Commissioner-designate with responsibility for financial services, financial stability and the capital markets union.

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Fine Gael MEP will replace Hogan, who was forced to resign after attending Oireachtas’ controversial ‘Golfgate’ dinner in Clifden.

Mairead is currently the first vice-president of the European Parliament and will be a vital player in the Brexit negotiations for Ireland.

Von der Leyen said she has her “full confidence” for the position: “I am nominating @MaireadMcGMEP as future commissioner of financial services.

“He has excellent qualifications and my complete confidence for this position. It is now up to the EU Parliament to organize the hearings.”

He added: ‘Ms McGuinness has significant political experience in EU affairs, has been a Member of the European Parliament since 2004 and currently serves as First Vice-President of the European Parliament.

“This experience is crucial in advancing the EU financial sector political agenda and ensuring that it supports and reinforces the Commission’s key priorities, in particular the dual green and digital transition.”

But who is Mairead McGuinness? Here Nicola Bardon explains why the Louth woman was perfect for the role.

WHERE IS SHE FROM?

Born in 1959, Mairead hails from Ardee in Co Louth.

He went to school in the city for primary and secondary school, before going to Dublin for university.

She now lives on the outskirts of town near Drumcondrath, Co Meath, with her husband, potato farmer Tom Duff, and their four children, twins Orlaith and James, daughter Aine and son Cathal.

HAVE YOU ALWAYS BEEN IN POLITICS?

After leaving school, Mairead began studying at UCD, where she became the first woman to graduate from her undergraduate degree in Agricultural Economics in 1980.

She followed that up with a diploma in accounting and finance. She used them to land a job in the media straight out of college and worked as a radio producer at RTE before landing a job as a researcher on the nation’s largest show, the Late Late Show.

But most people will remember her as the host of Ear to the Ground.

And while reality TV is commonplace now, she was once the host of one of RTE’s earliest attempts at the genre, Celebrity Farm.

She was also a journalist for the Irish Farmers Journal, before assuming the role of editor for seven years on the Irish Independent’s agricultural supplement.

So how did she end up being an MEP?

After a successful media career, Mairead revealed in 2004 that she wanted to seek a nomination for the European Parliament for Fine Gael, and topped the poll.

In 2007, she unsuccessfully tried to win a seat in the general election in Louth, but was re-elected to the European Parliament two years later and returned to the top spot.

In 2011, she expressed her desire to run for the Irish presidency as a representative of Fine Gael, but was defeated by Gay Mitchell for the nomination, with Michael D Higgins taking the place.

However, her success in Europe led to her being promoted to First Deputy Speaker of Parliament in 2014 with the majority of votes.

DIDN’T IT GO VIRAL WITH FARAGE?

Yes. In the week a Brexit withdrawal plan was debated in Parliament, Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage stood up and declared that “Britain will never come back.”

He caused scenes when he and members of his group stood up cheering and waving Union Jack flags.

But McGuinness turned the mic off mid-sentence, who said, “If you break the rules, they cut you. Please sit down, sit back down, put away your flags.

“You go, and take them with you if you go now.”

The clip was shared around the world.

SO NOW IS THE COMMISSIONER?

She has been cast but the role is not official yet.

The Government put forward two candidates at the request of Dr. von der Leyen, a female and male candidate: McGuinness and former Vice President of the European Investment Bank, Andrew McDowell.

She interviewed both the day before making her announcement and said they were both “excellent candidates” with “experience in EU affairs, of course from different perspectives.”

After being selected, McGuinness will have a hearing in the European Parliament and the new position will be approved by MEPs in a vote.