The make-up of Australia’s next federal parliament remains in doubt following the federal election but one Irish Australian looks certain to take her seat in the House of Representatives.

Deborah O’Neill was an election night hero for the Labor party but she may yet find herself on the opposition benches.  Ms O’Neill, a university lecturer, has won the marginal New South Wales seat of Roberston providing the Australian Labor Party with a rare win on a night of losses.

“Maybe it was the luck of the Irish,” Ms O’Neill remarked, two days after the historic poll which looks set to result in Australia’s first hung parliament since the second world war.

Still unwilling to claim victory, Ms O’Neill acknowledged that it was “looking good” for her chances in the marginal seat.

Ms O’Neill was considered an outside chance of retaining Robertson but soon after the polls closed, it became apparent that she was bucking the NSW swing away from Labor.

Former Labor leader Bob Hawke was among those who campaigned with the candidate and was one of the first to call to congratulate her.

While Ms O’Neill attributed her poll success to “hard work, a good team and a positive message”, she said an Irish talisman may have brought her good fortune.

“I have a beautiful Irish brooch that came from Cork and was given to me by my grandmother. On polling day, I was wearing that Tara brooch and I think it brought me some good luck.”

She would not be drawn on what had gone wrong for Labor in the campaign but appealed to the independents who have been thrust into the role of kingmakers.

“The independents are country people like ourselves. I’m hoping that they will see that Tony Abbott becoming Prime Minister will be a disaster for the nation.

“I want to play a role in a new Julia Gillard Government that will deliver a better future for Australia,” she said.

The mother-of-three comes from a strong Irish family and represented Sydney in the Rose Of Tralee 30 years ago.

“I still remember what a fantastic experience that was for me, meeting girls from all over the world,” she said.

Ms O’Neill’s parents Mary and the late Jim were originally from counties Kilkenny and Cork respectively.

by Billy Cantwell

Irish Australian Deborah O’Neill, pictured above with daughters Caitlin and Brianna, son Noah and husband Paul, has won the Labor nomination for Robertson.

Irish Australian Deborah O’Neill has won her pre-selection battle with high profile MP Belinda Neal in the New South Wales seat of Robertson on the Central Coast.

The University of Newcastle lecturer and former Sydney Rose of Tralee’s next challenges is to retain the marginal seat at the next federal election, due later in the year.

The Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, congratulated the mother-of-three saying “Debbie O’Neill is going to be a great candidate for us’’.

Ms O’Neill’s pre-selection battle attracted national attention as her opponent – the sitting member – was Belinda Neal, the controversial MP who was told to get anger management classes by Prime Minister Rudd after an incident at Igaunas nightclub in Gosford in January 2008.

Ms Neal was accused of bullying staff asking them “don’t you know who I am”.

Ms Neal is also the wife of NSW Minister John Della Bosca who had a well-publicised affair last year. The couple have subsequently reconciled.
The pre-selection battle was fiercely contested but Ms O’Neill prevailed by 98 votes to 67.

Ms O’Neill’s parents Mary and the late Jim met in England but were originally from counties Kilkenny and Cork respectively.

“They met at a dancehall called Shorrocks in Manchester. Mum fell in love with Dad’s Irish accent. Mum had moved to England from Kilkenny when she was aged 11 to live with her uncle and aunt,” Ms O’Neill told the Irish Echo recently.

“They got married on June 4 1960 when they were both aged 20 and set sail from England on July 4, heading for the promise of a new life.

“Dad had taken Mum to see a film about migrating to Australia and she was impressed by the pictures of clothes drying in the sun. I was born in Australia on their first wedding anniversary,” she said.

Ms O’Neill remembers her dad, who was just 49 when he died, very fondly.
“My father talked about Ireland a lot. It was heartbreaking for him not to be able to go back for weddings and other family occasions.

“I didn’t get to Ireland until I was 17, after I had finished high school, and I got back again two years later as the Sydney representative in the Rose of Tralee.”

It was former Prime Minister Paul Keating who finally inspired Ms O’Neill to join the Labor Party when she heard his election concession speech in March 1996. “It inspired me to think, if you want things to change, you have to be part of something, you have to act,” she said.

by Billy Cantwell and Pádraig Collins