Eileen Kennedy (1914 – 11 October 1983) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

District Court judge from

Carrickmacross Carrickmacross () is a town in County Monaghan, Ireland. The town and environs had a population of 5,032 according to the 2016 census, making it the second-largest town in the county. Carrickmacross is a market town which developed around a c ...

County Monaghan County Monaghan ( ; ga, Contae Mhuineacháin) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Ulster and is part of Border strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Monaghan. Monaghan County C ...

. She was the first female judge in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

when she was appointed to the District Court in 1964.

Background

Kennedy was born in Dublin, to a notable legal family. She was the fourth child of solicitor Patrick J. Kennedy and his wife Delia. Her two brothers, John P. Kennedy and James Kennedy, were both solicitors, while John was also a District Justice and former Coroner for south Monaghan. Her father was a brother of the famous Wexford Gaelic football duo,

Seán Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Irish English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán (anglicized as '' Shaun/Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; ang ...

and Gus O'Kennedy. Kennedy was brought up in Carrickmacross from 1918 and was educated in St Louis Convent. She trained as a nurse at St. Vincent's Hospital, Dublin, and practiced for 8 years from 1935, including service as an Army Nurse during the Emergency.

Legal career

Kennedy qualified as a solicitor in 1947, and practiced in her father's firm in Carrickmacross. In 1960, she was appointed Coroner for south Monaghan. She served as Coroner until she was appointed as the first female Justice to the District Court in 1964, when she was also appointed as Justice of the

Metropolitan Children's Court The Children Court is an ancillary court of Irish District Court, whose role is to deal with minor offences and most indictable offences where the defendant is below the age of 18. The Dublin Metropolitan Area has its own permanently sitting Ch ...

. Her appearance in court was seen as something of a novelty at the time, and not just because she was female. She was also the first Justice to appear with their head uncovered and her court was crowded for days with people just attending to witness this. In 1967 she was appointed by the then Minister for Education,

Donogh O'Malley Donogh Brendan O'Malley (18 January 1921 – 10 March 1968) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician and rugby union player who served as Minister for Education from 1966 to 1968, Minister for Health from 1965 to 1966 and Parliamentary Secretary ...

to chair a committee to carry out a survey and report on the

reformatory A reformatory or reformatory school is a youth detention center or an adult correctional facility popular during the late 19th and early 20th centuries in Western countries. In the United Kingdom and United States, they came out of social concerns ...

and industrial school systems. The report, which was published in 1970, was considered ground-breaking in many areas and came to be known as the Kennedy Report. The Report made recommendations about a number of matters, including the

Magdalene laundries Magdalene asylums, also known as Magdalene laundries, were initially Protestant but later mostly Roman Catholic institutions that operated from the 18th to the late 20th centuries, ostensibly to house "fallen women". The term referred to femal ...

, in relation to which they were not acted upon. The report recommended the closure of a number of reformatories, including the latterly infamous reformatory at

Daingean Daingean (; or ), formerly Philipstown, named after King Philip II of Spain, is a small town in east County Offaly, Ireland. It is situated midway between the towns of Tullamore and Edenderry on the R402 regional road. The town of Daingean h ...

County Offaly County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in hon ...

. In April 1970, Kennedy was appointed by

Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legislature) and the offi ...

Jack Lynch John Mary Lynch (15 August 1917 – 20 October 1999) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1966 to 1973 and 1977 to 1979, Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1966 to 1979, Leader of the Opposition from 1973 to 1977, Ministe ...

as a member the Commission on the Status of Women. This commission recommended the introduction of legislation to effect

equal pay Equal pay for equal work is the concept of labour rights that individuals in the same workplace be given equal pay. It is most commonly used in the context of sexual discrimination, in relation to the gender pay gap. Equal pay relates to the fu ...

and the removal of the

marriage bar A marriage bar is the practice of restricting the employment of married women. Common in Western countries from the late 19th century to the 1970s, the practice often called for the termination of the employment of a woman on her marriage, espe ...

Death

Kennedy died in Galway Regional Hospital following a heart attack which she suffered on holiday in

Connemara Connemara (; )( ga, Conamara ) is a region on the Atlantic coast of western County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The area has a strong association with traditional Irish culture and contains much of the Connacht Irish-speaking Gaeltacht, w ...

. She was 69 and was due to retire the following May.

Cultural references

Kennedy is one of six notable Irishwomen, including

Mary Robinson Mary Therese Winifred Robinson ( ga, Máire Mhic Róibín; ; born 21 May 1944) is an Irish politician who was the 7th president of Ireland, serving from December 1990 to September 1997, the first woman to hold this office. Prior to her elect ...

and

Brenda Fricker Brenda Fricker (born 17 February 1945) is an Irish actress, whose career has spanned six decades on stage and screen. She has appeared in more than 30 films and television roles. In 1990, she became the first Irish actress to win an Academy Awar ...

, to feature in an Irish school book "''Firsts For Irish Women - They Led the Way''" from Poolbeg Press, as part of their ''"Heroes for Ireland"'' series.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Eileen 20th-century Irish lawyers Irish solicitors Irish women judges District Court (Ireland) judges 1914 births 1983 deaths