Máirín Rita Lynch (; 14 August 1916 – 8 June 2004) was the wife of

Jack Lynch John Mary Lynch (15 August 1917 – 20 October 1999) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1966 to 1973 and 1977 to 1979, Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1966 to 1979, Leader of the Opposition from 1973 to 1977, Minister ...

, who served as

Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...

from 1966 to 1973 and from 1977 to 1979. Máirín O'Connor was born in

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 ...

in 1916. Her father was a naval doctor lost at sea during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

; her mother worked for the Dublin Industrial Development Association. She met her future husband Jack Lynch, a player on both the

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

senior

hurling Hurling ( ga, iománaíocht, ') is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of p ...

and

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

teams, in the early 1940s. The couple married on 10 August 1946. Jack Lynch later served as a government minister throughout the 1950s, before rising to the position of

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christian- ...

leader and Taoiseach in 1966. It was only after consultation with his wife that Lynch allowed his name to go forward to succeed Seán Lemass. From that moment on, Máirín Lynch became a highly recognised and respected member in the public eye. She was ever-present at her husband's side and was a trusted confidante and steady influence on him, particularly during the

Arms Crisis The Arms Crisis was a political scandal in the Republic of Ireland in 1970 in which Charles Haughey and Neil Blaney were dismissed as cabinet ministers for alleged involvement in a conspiracy to smuggle arms to the Irish Republican Army in North ...

. Máirín also played

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ci ...

for Maids of the Mountain. In 1947 she was captain of the Maids team that won the Irish Junior Cup. She died in Dublin on 8 June 2004.

References

1916 births 2004 deaths Jack Lynch People from County Dublin Spouses and partners of Taoisigh Field hockey players from County Dublin Irish female field hockey players {{Ireland-fieldhockey-bio-stub