Mary Frances McDonald (aka Mamo McDonald, 1929 – 17 June 2021) was an
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
feminist
Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
.
Born Mary Frances Bowen in
Tuam
Tuam ( ; ga, Tuaim , meaning 'mound' or 'burial-place') is a town in Ireland and the second-largest settlement in County Galway. It is west of the midlands of Ireland, about north of Galway city. Humans have lived in the area since the Bron ...
,
County Galway
"Righteousness and Justice"
, anthem = ()
, image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg
, map_caption = Location in Ireland
, area_footnotes =
, area_total_km2 = ...
, she joined the
Irish Countrywomen's Association
The Irish Countrywomen's Association (ICA; ga, Bantracht na Tuaithe) is the largest women's organisation in Ireland, with over 15,000 members. Founded in 1910 as the Society of United Irishwomen, it exists to prove social and educational oppo ...
while living in Croom, County Limerick c.1947. She married Eugene McDonald in 1950, and was therefore
required by law to leave her job at a bank. He died in 1979.
For over sixty-four years McDonald was a member of the ICA Clones Guild, which she helped to found. She became ICA National President in 1982 and played a major role in its acceptance as part of the women's movement in late-20th century Ireland. In 1999 she received a
People of the Year award in recognition of her services for Irish women and older people. She was an Honorary President of the Association.
McDonald had eleven children. She described in an interview that "I didn’t start out as a feminist. It was life that made a feminist of me." In 2012, she stated her belief that the most life-changing invention for women is the
washing machine
A washing machine (laundry machine, clothes washer, washer, or simply wash) is a home appliance used to wash laundry. The term is mostly applied to machines that use water as opposed to dry cleaning (which uses alternative cleaning fluids and ...
.
References
* ''McDonald, Mary Frances, 'Mamo','' Alison Walsh, in ''The Encyclopaedia of Ireland'', p. 668, Dublin, 2003.
{{DEFAULTSORT:McDonald, Mary Frances
1929 births
2021 deaths
Irish feminists
People from Tuam