Kathleen Mary Josephine Lemass (; 18 September 1898 – 14 March 1985) was the wife of

Seán Lemass Seán Francis Lemass (born John Francis Lemass; 15 July 1899 – 11 May 1971) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach and Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1959 to 1966. He also served as Tánaiste from 1957 to 1959, 1951 to 1954 ...

who served as

Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...

from 1959 to 1966.

Biography

Kathleen Muriel Hughes was born at Beechwood Avenue in

Ranelagh Ranelagh ( , ; ) is an affluent residential area and urban village on the Southside of Dublin, Ireland in the postal district of D06. History The district was originally a village known as Cullenswood just outside Dublin, surrounded by lande ...

, the eldest of five children, four of whom survived to adulthood. Her father, Thomas Hughes, was a carpet buyer in

Arnotts Arnotts can refer to; * Arnott's Biscuits, an Australian biscuit and salted snack food company * Arnotts (Ireland), a department store in Dublin, Ireland * Arnotts (Scotland) Arnotts was a department store in Glasgow, Scotland. It became part o ...

. The Hughes family were largely apolitical and played no active role during the

Irish revolutionary period The revolutionary period in Irish history was the period in the 1910s and early 1920s when Irish nationalist opinion shifted from the Home Rule-supporting Irish Parliamentary Party to the republican Sinn Féin movement. There were several wa ...

. As a young woman she worked as a shorthand typist. She studied singing under

Vincent O'Brien Vincent O'Brien (9 April 1917 – 1 June 2009) was an Irish horse racing, race horse horse trainer, trainer from Churchtown, County Cork, Churchtown, County Cork, Ireland. In 2003 he was voted the greatest influence in horse racing history in ...

and won prizes at the

Feis Ceoil Feis Ceoil ( ; "Festival of Music") is an Irish music organisation which holds an annual competitive festival of classical music. It was first organised in Dublin in 1897 by Dr. Annie Patterson and Edward Martyn for the purpose of stimulating musi ...

. Hughes met

when they were both children. Their families were friendly and would often holiday together in

Skerries A skerry is a small rocky island, usually defined to be too small for habitation. Skerry, skerries, or The Skerries may also refer to: Geography Northern Ireland * Skerries, County Armagh, a townland in County Armagh * Skerry, County Antrim, a ...

during the summer. A relationship developed, with Hughes writing to him during his imprisonment following the

1916 Easter Rising The Easter Rising ( ga, Éirí Amach na Cásca), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the a ...

. The couple became engaged, however, the marriage was initially opposed to by her father who felt that Lemass had been spending so much time in prison that he could not make a proper home. In spite of this the couple married on 24 August 1924 at the Church of the Holy Name in Ranelagh. The Lemasses had four children: Maureen, Margaret (Peggy), Noel and Sheila. The three daughters all got

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

at the same time. Maureen Lemass later married

Charles Haughey Charles James Haughey (; 16 September 1925 – 13 June 2006) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach on three occasions – 1979 to 1981, March to December 1982 and 1987 to 1992. He was also Minister for the Gaeltacht from ...

, who would succeed his father-in-law as leader of

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christian- ...

and Taoiseach in 1979. Noel Lemass would follow his father into politics, serving alongside him as a TD. Seán Lemass was elected as a TD for Dublin South shortly after his marriage in November 1924. Over the next 35 years he worked tirelessly to build and develop the Fianna Fáil party. He was a long-serving Minister for Industry and Commerce before being promoted to the position of

Tánaiste The Tánaiste ( , ) is the deputy head of the government of Ireland and thus holder of its second-most senior office. The Tánaiste is appointed by the President of Ireland on the advice of the Taoiseach. The current office holder is former Taoi ...

. In 1959, he was unanimously appointed leader of Fianna Fáil before being elected Taoiseach. For much of her husbands' political career she kept a low profile and enjoyed a background role, however, as the wife of the Taoiseach she often accompanied him on official visits. Along with her husband she met

US President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...

just two months before his assassination in 1963. Her husband resigned as Taoiseach in 1966, before eventually retiring from politics in 1969. He died on 11 May 1971. Kathleen Lemass died in Dublin on 15 March 1985.

References

1898 births 1985 deaths People from Ranelagh Spouses and partners of Taoisigh {{Ireland-bio-stub