Maureen O'Carroll (; 29 March 1913 – 9 May 1984) was an Irish Labour Party politician who served as a

Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( ; ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish language, Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The official Engli ...

(TD) for the Dublin North-Central constituency from 1954 to 1957. O'Carroll was the Labour Party's first-ever female TD. O'Carroll introduced women into the

Garda Siochana Garda may refer to: * Garda Síochána, the police and security service of Ireland * Garda National Surveillance Unit, the domestic intelligence agency of Ireland * GardaWorld, a security and protection company headquartered in Montreal, Canada * ...

and ensured that the word "illegitimate" no longer appeared on birth certificates.

Background

She was the eldest child of Michael McHugh and Elizabeth O’Dowd. Her father had been a participant in the

Easter Rising The Easter Rising (), 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 aim of establishing an ind ...

as well as a journalist and was very influential upon her. She was educated at

Gortnor Abbey Gortnor Abbey, officially Jesus and Mary College, is a co-educational Catholic secondary school in Crossmolina, County Mayo, Ireland. Located near Lough Conn, it is run by the Convent of Jesus and Mary. The school was established in 1912. As of ...

Crossmolina Crossmolina () is a town in the barony (Ireland), historical barony of Tirawley, Tyrawley in County Mayo, Ireland, as well as the name of the Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Catholic parish in which the town is situated. The town s ...

County Mayo County Mayo (; ) 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 Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, County Mayo, Mayo, now ge ...

on a scholarship before moving to

University College Galway The University of Galway () is a public university, public research university located in the city of Galway, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The university was founded in 1845 as "Queen's College, Galway". It was known as "University College, Ga ...

. She returned to Gortnor Abbey to become a

Novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

(novice nun), however, she later decided not to commit to that life. By 1936, she was a civil servant and had married her husband Gerard. Later she became a schoolteacher and mother of eleven children (including comedians Brendan and

Eilish O'Carroll Eilish O'Carroll (born 5 November 1952) is an Irish actress, writer, comedian and cast-member of the popular BBC sitcom, '' Mrs. Brown's Boys'', where she plays the title character's best friend and neighbour, Winnie McGoogan. She also played D ...

Political career

She entered politics as a founder of the Lower Prices Council, which campaigned against high prices, scarcity and black marketeering in the aftermath of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. She was elected to

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( ; , ) is the lower house and principal chamber of the Oireachtas, which also includes the president of Ireland and a senate called Seanad Éireann.Article 15.1.2° of the Constitution of Ireland reads: "The Oireachtas shall co ...

on her first attempt, at the 1954 general election to the

15th Dáil The 15th Dáil was elected at the 1954 general election on 14 May 1954 and met on 2 June 1954. The members of Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas (legislature), of Ireland are known as TDs. It sat with the 8th Seana ...

, when she was the third candidate to be elected in the three-seat Dublin North–Central constituency, defeating sitting

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil ( ; ; meaning "Soldiers of Destiny" or "Warriors of Fál"), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party (), is a centre to centre-right political party in Ireland. Founded as a republican party in 1926 by Éamon de ...

Colm Gallagher Colm Gallagher (died 26 June 1957) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who was elected twice as Teachta Dála (TD) for Dublin North-Central, in 1951 and in 1957. His first candidacy was at the 1948 general election, where he was unsuccessful ...

. She served as Labour's

Chief Whip The Chief Whip is a political leader whose task is to enforce the whipping system, which aims to ensure that legislators who are members of a political party attend and vote on legislation as the party leadership prescribes. United Kingdom I ...

from 1954 to 1957, and was the first woman to hold that position in any Irish political party. During her time as a TD, she was credited with introducing female members to the

Garda Síochána (; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace") is the national police and security service of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards". The service is headed by the Garda Commissio ...

, then known as ''Ban Gardaí'' (Women Guards). The Ban Gardaí would later serve as her guard of honour at her funeral in 1984. She is also credited as helping to remove the status of "illegitimate" from birth certificates. At the 1957 general election, she was defeated, and Gallagher retook the seat. O'Carroll did not stand again for election to the Dáil.

Death

On 9 May 1984, O'Carroll took her grandson

Danny Danny is a masculine given name. It is related to and short for the male name Daniel.🖾🖾 People *Danny Altmann, British immunologist * Danny Antonucci, Canadian animator, director, producer, and writer * Danny Baker (born 1957), English j ...

, one of the children of Brendan, who was 8 months old at the time, up to her room where she was living at the time for a nap. She died as Danny slept.Brendan O'Carroll - Call Me Mrs. Brown - p128

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ocarroll, Maureen 1913 births 1984 deaths 20th-century women Teachtaí Dála Alumni of the University of Galway Irish schoolteachers Labour Party (Ireland) TDs Members of the 15th Dáil People educated at Gortnor Abbey