Mary Agnes McAlister

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(née McMackin; 26 April 1896 – 26 February 1976) was an Irish-born Scottish

nurse Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health c ...

who also went into politics and was a member of parliament for the Labour Party.

Family

McMackin was born in

Rathmullan Rathmullan () is a seaside village and townland on the Fanad Peninsula in County Donegal, Ireland. It is situated on the western shore of Lough Swilly, north-east of Ramelton and east of Milford. Rathmullan has historical significance as the sc ...

,Register of Births, Rathmullan District

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconne ...

, Ireland;"The Times House of Commons 1959", p. 199 in later life she never revealed her date of birth in public, but the public record indicates that she was born on 26 April 1896 and baptised the same day. She was the eldest child of Charles McMackin, publican, of Rathmullan, son of Joseph McMackin, described as "merchant", and Winnifred Deeny, national teacher, of Glenvar, the eldest child of Charles Deeny, originally from Inniskil, and Sarah McGinley, originally from Legboy, Fanad,Register of Marriages, Milford District both also teachers. She moved with her family to

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

in 1903,"Fourth Candidate at Kelvingrove", ''The Times'', 3 March 1958. and attended the Franciscan Convent School there. From 1923 to 1926, she trained as a fever nurse at the Knightswood Hospital in Glasgow. Having qualified, she married J. Alexander McAlister in 1927; they had four daughters (Winifred, Molly, Elinor and Sheila), and six grandchildren (Frances, Susan, Sheila and Jane and Andrew and Judy).

Municipal politics

During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, McAlister served initially in the Civil Nursing Reserve. By the end of the war she was working as a Postal Censor. At the end of the war she went into politics with the Labour Party, being elected to

Glasgow Corporation The politics of Glasgow, Scotland's largest city by population, are expressed in the deliberations and decisions of Glasgow City Council, in elections to the council, the Scottish Parliament and the UK Parliament. Local government As one of ...

for Anderston Ward in 1945. In 1947 she was made a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

for Glasgow, and served on the bench for four years. From 1952 to 1955 McAlister was co-opted to be Convenor of the Health and Welfare Committee. She also served on the Western Region Hospitals Board and the General Nursing Council for Scotland. She was President of the

Royal College of Nursing The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is a registered trade union in the United Kingdom for those in the profession of nursing. It was founded in 1916, receiving its royal charter in 1928. Queen Elizabeth II was the patron until her death in 2022. ...

(Glasgow Branch) from 1956.

Kelvingrove by-election

When Walter Elliot, the long-serving and well-regarded Unionist Member of Parliament for Glasgow Kelvingrove, died in January 1958, McAlister was chosen as the Labour Party candidate for the ensuing

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

."Kelvingrove Polling on March 13", ''The Times'', 26 February 1958. In an unusual contest between two women, the Unionists adopted Walter Elliot's widow

Katharine Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria. In the early Christ ...

as their candidate. McAlister declared that the centrepiece of her campaign was opposing the Government's Rent Act, which had allowed many landlords in the constituency to raise rents; the constituency had a large number of private rented homes. The by-election was one of the first to be televised, as

Scottish Television Scottish Television (now, legally, known as STV Central Limited) is the ITV network franchisee for Central Scotland. The channel — the largest of the three ITV franchises in Scotland — has been in operation since 31 August 1957 and is the ...

(which had launched the previous year) was anxious to make a reputation for covering issues. On 6 March the candidates were invited to the studios for a televised debate, in which McAlister criticised Mrs Elliot's defence of a report on the Scots economy ''"with a delightful shaft in the Scots patois"''."Kelvingrove Candidates Face Trials of Television", ''The Times'', 7 March 1958. McAlister's concentration on rents and the economy. contrasted with the candidate of the further left

Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse working-class candidates ...

, William Park, who spoke almost solely about international disarmament."A Liberal Leader Goes Warily", ''The Times'', 11 March 1958.

Parliament

McAlister won the seat by 1,360 votes,"Kelvingrove: Labour In By 1,360", ''The Times'', 14 March 1958. although on polling day the Labour agent complained that one woman helping their campaign was threatened with eviction by her landlord unless she stopped the use of her rented home as committee rooms for one polling station."Labour Complain Of Incident In Kelvingrove Poll", ''The Times'', 15 March 1958. On 17 April 1958, McAlister made her

maiden speech A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament. Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country. In many Westminster system governments, there is a convention th ...

opposing the Rent Act. She was not a frequent speaker in Parliament, concentrating on constituency problems; during debate on the 1959 budget, she called for lowering of purchase tax on bedding and furnishings rather than refrigerators and washing machines."Parliament", ''The Times'', 10 April 1959.

Defeat

Dame Katharine Elliot had been given a

life peerage In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages Ac ...

in 1958 and so at the 1959 general election, a new Unionist candidate was chosen.

Frank Lilley Francis James Patrick Lilley (24 July 1907 – 21 August 1971) was a British civil engineering company chairman and politician. Military service Lilley was the son of Francis John Charles Lilley (1883-1939), who had founded F. J. C. Lilley Ltd, ...

proved an able campaigner and ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' correspondent noted "subtle undercurrents of religion" in the constituency."Glasgow in the Melting-Pot", ''The Times'', 7 October 1959. Lilley ended up winning the seat by 1,101 votes. In December 1960, McAlister was appointed to the

National Assistance Board The National Assistance Board was established by the National Assistance Act 1948 and abolished in by the Ministry of Social Security Act 1966. It was preceded by the Unemployment Assistance Board (known from 1941 as the Assistance Board) and suc ...

,"National Assistance Board", ''The Times'', 6 December 1960. serving from 1961 to 1966. She was a member of the Supplementary Benefits Commission from 1966 to 1968, finishing as Deputy chairman;"Prof. Titmuss's appointment", ''The Times'', 22 May 1968. that year she was awarded the

References and sources

;Notes ;Sources *M. Stenton and S. Lees, "Who's Who of British MPs" Vol. IV (Harvester Press, 1981) *"Who Was Who", A & C Black

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McAlister, Mary 1896 births 1976 deaths Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Politicians from County Donegal Politicians from Glasgow Scottish people of Irish descent Scottish Roman Catholics Scottish Labour MPs Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Glasgow constituencies UK MPs 1955–1959 Scottish nurses Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies 20th-century Scottish women politicians 20th-century Scottish politicians People from Rathmullan Health professionals from County Donegal