Chu's parents both immigrated, individually, from Hong Kong to Ireland in the 1970s. They met while working in the kitchen of a restaurant in Dublin and subsequently married. Chu was born at the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin City and raised in the suburb of Firhouse in South County Dublin and, later, Celbridge in County Kildare. Chu studied Politics and History at University College Dublin before completing a legal diploma and barrister-at-law degree at King's Inns. She was the first Irish-born person to be called to the Irish bar, although ultimately, due to having to repay the loan for her King's Inns fees, she went straight back to work in the not-for-profit sector, and did not practice as a barrister. She spent part of a year as a volunteer teacher in a remote village in China, and another six months working in Australia.
Chu managed the campaign for her partner Patrick Costello's successful election at the 2014 Dublin City Council election, in which he topped the poll in the Rathgar–Rathmines LEA. Chu stood as a Green Party candidate in the Pembroke LEA in the 2019 Dublin City Council election. She was the first candidate in the country to be declared elected. She topped the poll, receiving a historic 33.1% of the first preference vote.
Chu became a member of the Green Party in 2016 and was subsequently elected to serve on the party's National Executive for three years running. In 2017 with TDCatherine Martin, MEP Grace O'Sullivan and others she founded Mná Glasa, the party's woman group, and became its Co-Chair. She was elected National Coordinator of the Green Party and became its Spokesperson for Enterprise in 2018. In November 2019 she was elected as Chairperson of the Party, beating Pauline O’Reilly of Galway West.
Online harassment
Subsequent to her council victory and the media attention around it, Chu became a target of racistonline harassment, particularly on Twitter. Her harassers labelled her a migrant, denied that she was an Irish national, and claimed she was a product of the so-called "great replacement", a conspiracy theory propagated by the alt-right. The harassment later escalated to phone calls to her home. Justin Barrett, leader of the far-right fringe group the National Party, publicly indicated that if he ever got into power, he would attempt to strip Chu of her citizenship. Chu stated her resolution to not be intimidated by the harassment and to continue with her political career.
Personal life
Chu resides in Dublin and is engaged to fellow Green Party memberPatrick Costello, TD. They have one daughter. They met while studying at UCD.
