Máirín Uí Dhálaigh

Máirín Uí Dhálaigh
Born
Mary MacDermott

(1908-11-30)30 November 1908
Mussoorie, India
Died25 January 1994(1994-01-25) (aged 85)
Sneem, County Kerry, Ireland
Resting placeSneem, County Kerry, Ireland
NationalityIrish
Alma materUniversity College Dublin
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1934; died 1978)​

Máirín Anne Uí Dhálaigh or Máirín O'Daly (née Nic Dhiarmada;[1] 30 November 1908 – 25 January 1994) was a scholar of the Irish language and the wife of the 5th President of Ireland, Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh.

Early life and education

She was the second of five children baptised as Mary but always known as Maureen in the family. Her father Lawrence MacDermott was from Dublin and her mother Victoria Louisa Bradley was from Tralee, County Kerry. She was born in Mussoorie, India, where her father was a professor and teacher with the Royal Munster Fusiliers. At age six she was sent to her father's sister in Tralee. She was educated at various schools in Dublin, and studied Latin and Irish in University College Dublin (UCD). While there in 1931, she gave an address on "Women in Irish life long ago" which Philip O'Leary described in 2004 as "unapologetically feminist".[2] She worked as a teacher before completing a masters in Old Irish.

Professional life

She joined the arts faculty at UCD, and later (from 1965 on) served on the governing body. For the Irish Texts Society, she edited Cath Maige Mucrama and produced a glossary and corrections for The Life of Aodh Ruadh Ó Domhnaill. She also contributed to the Royal Irish Academy's Dictionary of the Irish Language.

She got to know Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh at UCD, through the Literary and Historical Society, Conradh na Gaeilge and hillwalking club; in 1934, they were married.[1] The couple had no children.

From 1979 to 1985, she served as a pro-chancellor of Trinity College Dublin.[3] In 1985, she was also made an honorary fellow of Trinity College Dublin.[4]

She donated her husband's extensive personal archive to UCD in two substantial donations in 1980 and 1981 opening up his public career of over four decades.[5] In 1983, five years after her husband's death, she was appointed to the Council of State by his successor, President Patrick Hillery.[6] Her last years were blighted by ill health. She is buried with her husband in Sneem, County Kerry.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Nealon, Ted (1974). Ireland: a parliamentary directory, 1973–1974. Institute of Public Administration. p. 168.
  2. ^ O'Leary, Philip (2010). Gaelic Prose in the Irish Free State 1922–1939. Penn State Press. p. 248. ISBN 978-0-271-03010-4. Retrieved 9 January 2011.
  3. ^ "Former Pro-Chancellors 1609 -". Trinity College Dublin. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
  4. ^ Webb, D.A. (1992). J.R., Barlett (ed.). Trinity College Dublin Record Volume 1991. Dublin: Trinity College Dublin Press. ISBN 1-871408-07-5.
  5. ^ "Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh Papers" (PDF). University College Dublin. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
  6. ^ "Bean Ui Dhalaigh honoured". The Irish Times. 30 June 1983. p. 1.

Sources