Introduction
editSheelagh Murnaghan (1924-93), a barrister, politician and hockey player, was born on 24 May 1924 in Dublin, Ireland[1][2]. She was a Northern Irish member of parliament for the Ulster Liberal Party in The Stormont House of Commons from 1961 to 1968 at Stormont[2][1]. She was the eldest of six children of Josephine Mary Morrogh and her husband Vincent Hugh Murnaghan. Her grandfather, George Murnaghan[1][2], was a nationalist politician[3]. She also studied law in Queen's University Belfast[1][4] where she became the first female president of the Literary and Scientific Debating Society[2][4]. Sheelagh went on to occupy a seat in The House of Commons from 1961- 1968[2][1]. "Murnaghan was the only Liberal MP to sit in the Northern Ireland parliament in its lifetime, 1921–72." [2] Murnaghan never married[2][1]. Some of her other known relatives include James Murnaghan, Francis D. Murnaghan, George Murnaghan Jr, Maurice Francis Murnaghan and T. Desmond Williams. She died on 24 September 1993 in Belfast.
Early Life
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Sheelagh Mary Murnaghan (1924-93) was born on 24 May 1924 to Josephine Mary Morrogh and Vincent Hugh Murnaghan. She was the eldest of their six children. Her grandfather, George Murnaghan was a well-known nationalist politician in Northern Ireland. She was educated at Loreto Grammar School in Omagh, Loreto Abbey in Rathfarnham and studied law in Queen's University Belfast[1][4]. While studying in Queen's University, Murnaghan also captained the hockey team from 1955 to 1956[5][2] and was the first female president of the Literary and Scientific Debating Society; also known as The Literific[2][4]. After graduating from college, Sheelagh became "[one] of only nine women ever elected to the fifty-two-seat Stormont House of Commons during its fifty-year existence"[5]. She became a member of the Ulster Liberal Association in 1959[2][1] and finished her political career in November 1968 when the seat for Queen's University Belfast was abolished[1][4]. "Sheelagh was seen as a slightly eccentric figure"[4], according to Ruth Illingworth, during her time as a politician.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Woods, C. J. "Murnaghan, Sheelagh Mary". login.ucd.idm.oclc.org. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c d e f g h i j Luddy, Maria (2004). "Murnaghan, Sheelagh Mary: 1924-1993". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/60681. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) (Subscription or UK public library membership required.) - ^ Hourican, Bridget. "Murnaghan, George". login.ucd.idm.oclc.org. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c d e f "SHEELAGH MURNAGHAN / Politician / Lawyer / Sportswoman / Civil Rights Activist —". www.herstory.ie. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
- ^ a b Rynder, Constance (2007-01-11). "Sheelagh Murnaghan And The Struggle For Human Rights In Northern Ireland1". Irish Studies Review. 14 (4): 447–463. doi:10.1080/09670880600984442. S2CID 144502001.