Maureen Haughey (; 3 September 1925 – 17 March 2017) was the wife of

Charles Haughey Charles James Haughey (; 16 September 1925 – 13 June 2006) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who led four governments as Taoiseach: December 1979 to June 1981, March to December 1982, March 1987 to June 1989, and June 1989 to February 1992 ...

, who served as

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

on three occasions.

Biography

She was born in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, the eldest daughter of

Seán Lemass Seán Francis Lemass (born John Francis Lemass; 15 July 1899 – 11 May 1971) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach and Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1959 to 1966. He also served as Tánaiste from 1957 to 1959, 1951 to 1954 ...

, the recently elected TD for Dublin South and future

, and Kathleen Hughes. After completing her secondary education she was struck down with

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

in 1943. After spending a year recovering in hospital, she later studied at

University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

(UCD) where she received a degree in commerce. During her studies at UCD, she was introduced to

. They married on 18 September 1951. They had four children: Eimear, Conor, Ciarán and

Seán Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Hiberno-English, is a male given name of Irish language, Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán (Anglicisation of names, anglicized as ''Shaun/Shawn (g ...

. Her husband was elected as a TD for Dublin North-East in 1957 before later serving in a range of ministerial positions including

Justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...

Agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

Finance Finance refers to monetary resources and to the study and Academic discipline, discipline of money, currency, assets and Liability (financial accounting), liabilities. As a subject of study, is a field of Business administration, Business Admin ...

and Health and Social Welfare. He was elected leader of

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil ( ; ; meaning "Soldiers of Destiny" or "Warriors of Fál"), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party (), is a centre to centre-right political party in Ireland. Founded as a republican party in 1926 by Éamon de ...

and Taoiseach in 1979. During her time as wife to the Taoiseach she kept a low profile and had enjoyed a background role in her husbands' political career. Maureen Haughey's brother

Noel Lemass Noel Thomas Lemass (14 February 1929 – 13 April 1976) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Finance from 1969 to 1973. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for Dublin South-West from 1956 ...

also served as a Fianna Fáil TD, while her sister-in-law, Eileen Lemass, also served as a member of

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( ; , ) is the lower house and principal chamber of the Oireachtas, which also includes the president of Ireland and a senate called Seanad Éireann.Article 15.1.2° of the Constitution of Ireland reads: "The Oireachtas shall co ...

. Her youngest son, Seán Haughey, has served as

Lord Mayor of Dublin The Lord Mayor of Dublin () is the honorary title of the chairperson ( ) of Dublin City Council which is the local government body for the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. The incumbent, since December 2024, is Fine Gael councillor Emma ...

and was a TD and has previously been a

Minister of State Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...

. After stepping down as Taoiseach in 1992, Charles Haughey's retirement was dogged with controversy, with the

Moriarty Tribunal The Moriarty Tribunal, officially called the Tribunal of Inquiry into certain Payments to Politicians and Related Matters, was an Irish Tribunal of Inquiry established in 1997 into the financial affairs of politicians Charles Haughey and Mich ...

investigating a series of payments that he received from senior businessmen over an 18-year period. At one stage, he faced criminal charges for obstructing the work of the tribunal. He was also found to have spent large sums of Fianna Fáil money on Charvet shirts and dinners at the exclusive Le Coq Hardi restaurant in Dublin. In May 1999, gossip columnist

Terry Keane Terry Keane (1939 – 31 May 2008), born in Guildford, England, was an Irish social columnist and fashion journalist. Life Born Ann Teresa O'Donnell in Guildford, Surrey, UK in 1939, Keane studied medicine at Trinity College, Dublin. She dro ...

revealed on '' The Late Late Show'' that Charles Haughey had conducted a 27-year relationship with her. Haughey was widowed on 13 June 2006, when her husband died of

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...

. They had been married for 55 years. In 2008, she left

Abbeville Abbeville (; ; ) is a commune in the Somme department and in Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It is the of one of the arrondissements of Somme. Located on the river Somme, it was the capital of Ponthieu. Geography Location A ...

, her home of 39 years. She died on 17 March 2017, aged 91.

References

Bibliography

* Horgan, John, ''Seán Lemass - the Enigmatic Patriot''. (Gill and Macmillan, Dublin, 1997). {{DEFAULTSORT:Haughey, Maureen Burials at St. Fintan's Cemetery, Sutton 1925 births 2017 deaths Alumni of University College Dublin Children of Taoisigh Lemass family Spouses and partners of Taoisigh People from Fingal Haughey family