Cecilia Keaveney was born in November 1968 and is a daughter of Helen and the late Paddy Keaveney. Paddy was a member of the Oireachtas in 1976 where he won a By-Election under the banner of Independent Fianna Fail. His stay in the House was relatively short lived in that he lost out in the General Election in 1977 but subsequently was elected to Donegal County Council where he remained virtually right up to his untimely death in July 1995.

Cecilia followed in the footsteps of her father and was elected in a By-Election caused by the death of the Independent Fianna Fail leader and she then faced a General Election within a year where she took a Dail seat and remained in the Chamber until 2007.

Although Cecilia lost her seat in the General Election of 2007 she successfully topped the educational panel poll in the Seanad elections.

Since taking her seat in the Irish Senate Cecilia has been appointed to a number of positions increasing her portfolio as Government spokesperson on Education and Science. Senator Keaveney has been appointed to the Council of Europe, the British-Irish Parliamentary Body, the Oireachtas Commission, the Good Friday Agreement Committee and the Joint Committee on Education and Science.