Maude Rooney (1902 – 9 December 1974) 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 ...
consumers' and women's rights activist.
Early life
Maude Rooney was born Mary Maude Mahony in 1902 in
County Antrim
County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...
. She was one of the three sons and three daughters of a retired RIC district inspector and his wife Frances Charlotte. Rooney grew up in
Holywood, County Down
Holywood ( ) (Irish: ''Ard Mhic Nasca'', meaning 'Height of the Son of Nasca'. Latin: ''Sanctus Boscus'', meaning 'Holy Wood') is a town in the metropolitan area of Belfast in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is a civil parish and townland of 7 ...
, and was educated locally. She worked as a secretary to Lord Oranmore and Browne at Castlemargaret,
County Mayo
County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the Taxus baccata, yew trees") is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Conn ...
. During the Emergency, she was a captain in the voluntary division of the Red Cross from 1939 to 1945. She married Michael Rooney, an insurance official, in 1946 at Westland Row Church,
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
. The couple lived at Redesdale Road, Mount Merrion, Dublin.
Advocacy work
Rooney joined the
Irish Housewives Association The Irish Housewives Association (IHA) was an influential pressure group founded in 1942 to speak out about injustices and the needs of Irish women, inside and outside the home.Hilda Tweedy obituary, ''Irish Times'', 9 July 2005. The organization c ...
(IHA) in 1949. Between 1949 and 1965, Rooney acted as honorary treasurer, minutes secretary, and joint honorary secretary of the IHA. She represented the Association at the women's advisory committee of the institute for industrial research and standards in 1964. Around the same time, Rooney was a member of the IHA's social and international sub-committees, and sat on the editorial board which published ''The Irish Housewife'' and later ''The Irish Housewives' Voice''. From 1965 to 1968, Rooney was the chairwoman of the IHA, overseeing the establishment of branches across Ireland, with these branches developing their own agendas.
She attended the fourth biennial conference of the international office of consumers' unions in Israel in June 1966. Taking inspiration from what she saw, Rooney started lengthy discussions within the IHA on consumer protection. This resulted in the decision that Ireland needed a group to concentrate on consumer rights and that this fell outside the remit of the IHA. To start this new group, the IHA convened a meeting of all interested parties on 7 September 1966 in
Shelbourne Hotel
The Shelbourne Hotel is a historic hotel in Dublin, Ireland, situated in a landmark building on the north side of St Stephen's Green. Currently owned by Kennedy Wilson and operated by Marriott International, the hotel has 265 rooms in total and ...
. This resulted in a steering committee, which then called a public meeting on 29 October 1966 at the Metropole. It was at this meeting that Rooney was elected chairwoman of the newly established
Consumers' Association of Ireland
The Consumers' Association of Ireland Ltd. (CAI) was set up in 1966 to protect and educate consumers. Its first chair was Maude Rooney, who was also instrumental in the establishment of the Association.
See also
* ''Which?''
* Askaboutmoney, an I ...
. She later became vice-chairman, a position she held until her death. A large amount of her time was given over to being an unpaid complaints officer.
Rooney also served as the IHA representative in a rates study group in 1967, and was part of the IHA delegation to the
International Alliance of Women
The International Alliance of Women (IAW; french: Alliance Internationale des Femmes, AIF) is an international non-governmental organization that works to promote women's rights and gender equality. It was historically the main international org ...
in the same year. At this meeting the UN commission urged the national groups to examine women's status in their respective countries, and to lobby their governments for a national commission on women. Taking on this, Rooney presided over a meeting of numerous Irish women's groups on 30 January 1968 in the Central Hotel, Dublin. She served on the women's advisory committee again in 1971. She was on the leaders of a protest march in Dublin in November 1974 which protested rising prices.
Death and legacy
Rooney died suddenly on 9 December 1974 in Dublin, and is buried in
Glasnevin Cemetery
Glasnevin Cemetery ( ga, Reilig Ghlas Naíon) is a large cemetery in Glasnevin, Dublin, Ireland which opened in 1832. It holds the graves and memorials of several notable figures, and has a museum.
Location
The cemetery is located in Glasne ...
. On the day after her death, proposals were submitted to the Irish government by the national consumer advisory council that incorporated many of the ideals she had advocated for throughout her life.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rooney, Maude
1902 births
1974 deaths
People from County Armagh
Irish women in business