Moira Keenan (1933 – 16 October 1972) was a British fashion and lifestyle journalist.

Life and work

Keenan grew up in India where her father, Brigadier-General John Keenan served as a British officer of the Indian Army. She and her sisters were raised by governesses. After

Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

's assassination, the family returned to England, making their home in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

. Keenan joined

Ernestine Carter Ernestine Marie Carter OBE (née Fantl; 10 October 1906 – 1 August 1983) was an American-born British museum curator, journalist, and fashion writer. She became hugely influential in her roles as women's editor, and later associate editor of ' ...

to work at ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

'' in 1957. In 1969, she moved to ''

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 ...

'', becoming its Woman's Editor on New Years Day 1970. Keenan was particularly interested in issues involving children and family. Her regular column, "Growing Point" was widely regarded by professionals working in psychology and social services, as well as the public. Carter and Keenan and their editorial team were credited with having changed the face of fashion reporting in newspapers, presenting articles that emphasised excellence of design at all price levels. Keenan's younger sister,

Brigid Brigid ( , ; meaning 'exalted one' from Old Irish),Campbell, MikBehind the Name.See also Xavier Delamarre, ''brigantion / brigant-'', in ''Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise'' (Éditions Errance, 2003) pp. 87–88: "Le nom de la sainte irlandais ...

, was also a noted journalist, working as Woman's Editor of ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'' whilst Moira held the same role at ''The Times''. Brigid would go on to secure a job at ''

'' after being mistaken for her more successful sister. In 1972, Keenan was the journalist asked to choose that year's

Dress of the Year The Dress of the Year is an annual fashion award run by the Fashion Museum, Bath from 1963. Each year since 1963, the Museum has asked a fashion journalist to select a dress or outfit that best represents the most important new ideas in contempora ...

for the Museum of Costume, Bath. She chose teenage and children's clothing by

Biba Biba was a London fashion store of the 1960s and 1970s. Biba was started and primarily run by the Polish-born Barbara Hulanicki with help of her husband Stephen Fitz-Simon. Early years Biba's early years were rather humble, with many of the ou ...

Bobby Hillson Bobby Hillson is a London-based fashion illustrator, former designer of children's clothing, and founder of the Saint Martin's School of Art MA Fashion course. Early life Hillson, who had studied at Saint Martin's School of Art, started out as an ...

and Burton. At the time, she commented that young children had never been so aware of their clothing and the importance of their appearance. Keenan died on 16 October 1972, after a ten-year battle with cancer and her requiem mass was held at

St Etheldreda's Church St Etheldreda's Church is a Roman Catholic church in Ely Place, off Charterhouse Street in Holborn, London. The building is one of only two surviving in London from the reign of Edward I, and dates from between 1250 and 1290. It is dedicated ...

on 19 October. Keenan was married to John Ogden and the couple had two sons, Peregrine and William.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keenan, Moira 1933 births 1972 deaths British women journalists Deaths from cancer in England