Maeve Hillery | |
|---|---|
 Hillery in The Netherlands in 1986 | |
| Born | Mary Beatrice Finnegan 14 August 1924 Sheffield, Yorkshire, England |
| Died | 10 January 2015 (aged 90) Blackrock, Dublin, Ireland |
| Resting place | St. Fintan's Cemetery, Sutton, Dublin, Ireland |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Alma mater | |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
Maeve Hillery ( née Finnegan; 14 August 1924 – 10 January 2015) was an Irish anaesthetist who was the wife of the 6th President of Ireland, Patrick Hillery.
Mary Beatrice Finnegan was born on 14 August 1924 [1] in Sheffield, Yorkshire. Her father was a builder from Galway, and her mother was half-Irish. Hillery would holiday in Ireland as a child, and, during World War II, she attended a boarding school in Galway for a year. She entered University College Galway (UCG), and qualified as a doctor. She then attended University College Dublin (UCD), where she studied to become an anaesthetist. [2] It was here that she met her future husband, Patrick Hillery, who was also studying medicine. [3] [4] She worked in Jervis Street Hospital, St James' Hospital, and in Sheffield. [5] The couple married on 27 October 1955. [1] The Hillerys practised medicine together in Milltown Malbay while her husband was a TD. [2] Together they had a son, John, and an adopted daughter, Vivienne. Vivienne died in 1987 [1] from leukemia. [2]
Hillery died in Dublin, on 10 January 2015. [6] She was buried in St Fintan's Cemetery, Sutton. [3]
Hillery's husband served in a number of political roles, including foreign minister and European Commissioner. After the completion of his term as a European Commissioner in 1976, he contemplated leaving politics and returning to medicine. Instead, Hillery was asked to become the sixth President of Ireland. [7] The woollen cloak she worn to her husband's inauguration as president is now held in the collections of the National Museum of Ireland at Collins Barracks. [8] [9] She used a number of Irish designers during her 13 years in Áras an Uachtaráin, highlighting Irish design and materials. [2] [10]
During the few rare interviews Hillery gave she spoke about the enormous upkeep and maintenance the presidential residence required, its unsuitability as a family home, and undertook the restoration of parts of the house. Due to her husband's career, Hillery did give up practising medicine, but she undertook a course in public health at University of Louvain, and a diploma in child care. [2] [5] She maintained a particular interest in children's mental health, was part of a research committee at St Michael's House, and worked with Dr Victoria Coffey on her study of Down Syndrome. She also learnt Irish Sign Language. [5]
Hillery served as the patron and president of a number of charities and voluntary groups including the Ana Liffey Drug Project, [11] Care Alliance Ireland, [12] Femscan, [13] the National Association for the Mentally Handicapped, and the Association for Deaf Children. [5] She was among a number of prominent Irish women who contributed recipes to a book, Welcome To Our Kitchen, which was produced by Femscan to raise money towards Ireland's first mobile breast cancer screening unit. [14]
Maeve, Meave, Maev or Maiv is a female given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish name Méabh, which was spelt Meadhbh in Early Modern Irish, Meḋḃ or Meaḋḃ in Middle Irish, and Medb in Old Irish. It may derive from a word meaning "she who intoxicates", "mead-woman", or alternatively "she who rules". Medb is a queen in Irish mythology who is thought to have originally been a sovereignty goddess.
Patrick John Hillery was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as the sixth president of Ireland from December 1976 to December 1990. He also served as vice-president of the European Commission and European Commissioner for Social Affairs from 1973 to 1976, Minister for External Affairs from 1969 to 1973, Minister for Labour from 1966 to 1969, Minister for Industry and Commerce from 1965 to 1969 and Minister for Education from 1959 to 1965. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Clare constituency from 1951 to 1973.
Valerie Hamilton, Lady Goulding was an Irish campaigner for disabled people, and senator who set up the Central Remedial Clinic in 1951 alongside Kathleen O'Rourke which is now the largest organisation in Ireland looking after people with physical disabilities. She served as a member of Seanad Éireann from 1977 to 1981.
Events from the year 1998 in Ireland.
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Lynn Ruane is an Irish politician who has served as an independent Senator for the Dublin University constituency in Seanad Éireann since April 2016. She was the President of the Trinity College Dublin Students' Union from 2015 to 2016.
Suzanne Crowe is an Irish anaesthesiologist, intensivist, and current president of the Medical Council of Ireland.
Mary Maher was an American-born Irish trade unionist, feminist, and journalist. She was a founder of the Irish Women's Liberation Movement and the first women's editor at The Irish Times newspaper, where she worked for 36 years.