Statement from President Michael D. Higgins on the death of Mary Maher
Date: Tue 30th Nov, 2021 | 16:01
"There will be so many who will have been deeply saddened to learn of the death this morning of Mary Maher. A passionate feminist and trade unionist, Mary was a true trailblazer, role model and inspiration.
The death of Mary Maher represents the passing of one of the founding elements of the Rights Movement and Women’s Rights in particular. Her importance as an activist in the public area was accompanied by a professional commitment in journalism that broke so many ceilings, all of which advanced the causes that affected women’s lives.
Throughout her life, Mary set about tackling barriers of exclusion. She was the first woman to return to the Irish Times after her marriage (in the process leading to the lifting of the paper’s marriage ban), the first to avail of maternity leave, the first editor of the paper’s women’s page, the first woman to lead a national newspaper trade union chapel, and the first NUJ member appointed to the Employment Appeals Tribunal.
In her role as the first women’s editor of the Irish Times, Mary took it as her task to ensure that women’s issues were covered by the paper, but also that what was defined as women’s issues were not those topics which men may have wished to stereotypically assign to them. She ensured that the full range of social issues were tackled, especially those which have serious impacts on women’s lives and which Irish society was failing to address.
As well as being a superb reporter, editor and features writer, Mary was also an accomplished author and playwright and through this work continued to highlight the serious issues facing Irish life. She leaves a further legacy as a lifelong advocate through the labour movement, and as a campaigning trade unionist, held in the highest esteem by colleagues in the NUJ.
Sabina and I were privileged to be friends of Mary and would like to extend our deepest sympathies to Mary’s daughters, Nora and Maeve, sister Bonnie, brother Jerry, grandchildren, and all of her many friends and family."