Sheelagh Murnaghan
 | This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. (January 2011) |
Sheelagh Murnaghan | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Northern Ireland House of Commons | |
| In office 1961–1969 | |
| Constituency | Queen's University of Belfast |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 26 May 1924 Dublin, Ireland |
| Died | 14 September 1993 (aged 69) Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| Nationality | British/Irish |
| Political party | Ulster Liberal Party |
| Alma mater | Queen's University Belfast |
| Profession | Barrister |
Sheelagh Mary Murnaghan (26 May 1924 — 14 September 1993) was an Ulster Liberal Party Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons of Northern Ireland at Stormont.
Born into a Roman Catholic family in Dublin, the granddaughter of George Murnaghan, a Nationalist MP, she grew up in Omagh before studying law at Queen's University, Belfast, graduating in 1947. Whilst at Queen's she became the first female president of the Literary and Scientific Society (the Literific), the university debating society. She qualified as a barrister and played for the Irish national women's hockey team.
Murnaghan joined the Ulster Liberal Association in 1959, and unsuccessfully contested South Belfast in the British general election that year. On 24 November 1961, she won a by-election for Queens University Belfast[1][2] and became the only Liberal member ever to sit in the Northern Ireland House of Commons.
While an MP, Murnaghan campaigned to abolish the death penalty and for a bill of human rights. When her seat was abolished, she failed to win North Down at the 1969 Northern Ireland general election, and was also unsuccessful in Belfast South at the 1973 Northern Ireland Assembly election. During the 1970s, she sat on various quangos, including the Industrial Relations Tribunal and the Equal Opportunities Commission. She continued to practice at the Bar, specialising in harassment cases.
She died in 1993, aged 69, from undisclosed causes.
References
- ^ "News in Brief: University seat". The Times. London. 1 November 1961. p. 5. Retrieved 26 January 2018 – via Times digital archive.
- ^ "News in Brief: Woman Liberal wins N. Ireland seat". The Times. London. 25 November 1961. p. 5. Retrieved 26 January 2018 – via Times digital archive.
External links
- Biographies of Members of the Northern Ireland House of Commons
- Ulster Biography profile of Murnaghan
- Biographies of Members of the Northern Ireland House of Commons
- Constance Rynder, Irish Studies Review, Vol. 15, No. 1, 2007
Sources
- 1924 births
- 1993 deaths
- Alumni of Queen's University Belfast
- Women members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland
- Members of the Bar of Northern Ireland
- Members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland 1958–62
- Members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland 1962–65
- Members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland 1965–69
- Barristers from Northern Ireland
- People from Belfast
- People from Dublin (city)
- People from Omagh
- Ulster Liberal Party members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland
- Women lawyers from Northern Ireland
- Female field hockey players from Northern Ireland
- Members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland for Queen's University of Belfast
- Ireland international women's field hockey players
- Irish female field hockey players