Meet Barry
Barry Andrews serves as Member of the European Parliament representing the Dublin constituency and is a member of the Renew Europe group in the Parliament.
Born and raised in Dublin, Barry attended Blackrock College before studying at UCD where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in History and Politics and a Master of Arts in Modern History in 1990.
Before entering political life, Barry was a secondary school teacher. His first teaching position was in Ballyfermot Senior College and he went on to teach in Sutton Park School and Bruce College. While a teacher, Barry studied law part-time, qualifying as a barrister in 1997 where he specialised in child protection law, dealing with vulnerable children and unaccompanied minors seeking asylum.
Barry contested his first election when he ran for a seat on Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council in 1999. He topped the poll and soon progressed to national politics following his election to the Dáil in the 2002 general election representing the Dún Laoghaire constituency.
He served as Minister of State for Children from 2008 to 2011 before taking a hiatus from formal political life and taking up the position of CEO of the International Development NGO GOAL in 2012.
Barry became the Director-General of the Institute of International and European Affairs in 2017 until his election to the European Parliament in 2019. Barry took his seat in the European Parliament in January 2020 after the United Kingdom left the EU.
Barry lives in Dublin with his wife Sinéad and their three children.
