Maeve Hillery facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Maeve Hillery
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Hillery in The Netherlands in 1986
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| Born |
Mary Beatrice Finnegan
14 August 1924 Sheffield, Yorkshire, England
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| Died | 10 January 2015 (aged 90) Blackrock, Dublin, Ireland
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| Resting place | St. Fintan's Cemetery, Sutton, Dublin, Ireland |
| Nationality | Irish |
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| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | 2 |
Maeve Hillery (born Finnegan; 14 August 1924 – 10 January 2015) was an Irish doctor who specialised in anaesthesia. She was also the wife of Patrick Hillery, who served as the 6th President of Ireland.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Maeve Hillery was born as Mary Beatrice Finnegan on 14 August 1924. Her birthplace was Sheffield, in Yorkshire, England. Her father was a builder from Galway, Ireland. Her mother also had Irish roots.
As a child, Maeve often spent holidays in Ireland. During World War II, she attended a boarding school in Galway for a year. She later studied at University College Galway (UCG). There, she earned her qualification as a doctor.
Maeve then went on to University College Dublin (UCD). She chose to specialise in anaesthesia, which is the practice of giving medicine to stop pain during operations. It was at UCD that she met her future husband, Patrick Hillery. He was also studying medicine at the time.
Family Life
Maeve and Patrick Hillery got married on 27 October 1955. They both worked as doctors together in Milltown Malbay. This was while Patrick was a TD, a member of the Irish parliament.
They had a son named John and an adopted daughter named Vivienne. Sadly, Vivienne passed away in 1987. Maeve Hillery died in Dublin on 10 January 2015. She was buried in St Fintan's Cemetery, Sutton.
Role as First Lady
Maeve Hillery's husband, Patrick, had a long career in politics. He served as a foreign minister and a European Commissioner. After his time as a European Commissioner ended in 1976, he was asked to become the sixth President of Ireland.
When her husband became president, Maeve became the First Lady of Ireland. The special woollen cloak she wore to his inauguration is now kept at the National Museum of Ireland. During her 13 years living in Áras an Uachtaráin, the President's official residence, she often wore clothes designed by Irish designers. This helped to show off Irish design and materials.
Maeve Hillery gave very few interviews. However, she sometimes spoke about the huge amount of work needed to look after the presidential home. She also mentioned that it wasn't very suitable for a family home. She took on the job of restoring parts of the house.
Continued Interests and Charity Work
Because of her husband's busy career, Maeve Hillery stopped working as a practising doctor. However, she continued her education. She took a course in public health at the University of Louvain. She also earned a diploma in child care.
Maeve was very interested in children's mental health. She was part of a research group at St Michael's House. She also worked with Dr Victoria Coffey on her research about Down syndrome. Maeve even learned Irish Sign Language.
Maeve Hillery was a patron and president for many charities and volunteer groups. These included Care Alliance Ireland, Femscan, the National Association for the Mentally Handicapped, and the Association for Deaf Children. She also contributed recipes to a cookbook called Welcome To Our Kitchen. This book was created by Femscan to help raise money for Ireland's first mobile unit for breast cancer screening.
