Maureen O'Carroll (; 29 March 1913 – 9 May 1984) was an Irish Labour Party politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin North-Central constituency from 1954 to 1957. She led the way with women border guards and ensuring 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 ( 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 ...

as well as a journalist, and was very influential upon her. She was educated at Jesus and Mary College in Gortnor Abbey in Crossmolina,

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 ...

on a scholarship before moving to University College Galway. 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 school teacher 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 ...

). O'Carroll died in 1984, shortly after her grandson Danny was born, his sister

Fiona Fiona is a feminine given name. The name is associated with the Gaelic traditions of Ireland and Scotland (through the poetry of James Macpherson), but has also become popular in England.. It can be considered either a Latinisation of names, Lati ...

was just 3 years old at the time.

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. She was elected to

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( , ; ) is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature), which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann (the upper house).Article 15.1.2º of the Constitution of Ireland read ...

on her first attempt, at the 1954 general election to the 15th Dáil, when she was the third candidate to be elected in the three-seat Dublin North–Central constituency, defeating sitting Fianna Fáil TD

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 unsuccessf ...

. 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 ...

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"), more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards", is the national police service of Ireland. The service is headed by the Garda Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Gover ...

, 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.

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