Amanda was born in 1976 and grew up in Ballinteer, a suburb of Dublin. She studied Marketing, Advertising and Public Relations in Dublin Business School and worked for several years in Marketing and subsequently as P.A. to the Chairman at Nissan Ireland. Amanda is also a qualified Montessori Teacher and SNA. In 2009, Amanda gave up work to take care of her son Tadhg on a full time basis, after he was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy and Global Developmental Delay in March 2009, at the age of 10 months old. Amanda currently lives in Newbridge, Co. Kildare, with her husband Greg and three children, Emily, Tadhg and Dylan.