Maeve Hillery
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Maeve Hillery | |
---|---|
First Lady of Ireland | |
In role 3 December 1976 – 2 December 1990 | |
President | Patrick Hillery |
Preceded by | Máirín Bean Uí Dhálaigh |
Succeeded by | Nicholas Robinson (First Gentleman) |
Personal details | |
Born | Mary Beatrice Finnegan 14 August 1924 Douglas, Cork, Ireland |
Died | 10 January 2015 Blackrock, Dublin, Ireland | (aged 90)
Resting place | Sutton |
Political party | Fianna Fáil |
Spouse | Patrick Hillery (m. 1955; d. 2008) |
Children |
|
Alma mater | University College Dublin |
Mary Beatrice Hillery (née Finnegan; 14 August 1924 – 10 January 2015), known as Maeve Hillery, was First Lady of Ireland from 1976-90, as the wife of 6th President of Ireland, Patrick Hillery.
Maeve Finnegan was educated at University College Dublin where she studied medicine. It was here that1 she met her future husband, Patrick Hillery, who was also studying medicine. The couple married on 27 October 1955. Together they had a son, John, and a daughter, Vivienne, who died after a long illness in 1985, shortly before her eighteenth birthday. Patrick later served in a number of political roles, including Foreign Minister and European Commissioner. After the completion of his term as EC Commissioner in 1976, he contemplated leaving politics and returning to medicine. Instead, Hillery was asked to become the sixth President of Ireland. Patrick died on 12 April 2008.[1] She died in Dublin on 10 January 2015.[2]
References
- ^ "Tributes, State Funeral for Hillery". RTÉ News. 12 April 2008. Retrieved 12 April 2008.
- ^ Dr Maeve Hillery, the widow of former President Patrick Hillery, has died