Monica Barnes (; 12 February 1936 – 2 May 2018) was an Irish

Fine Gael Fine Gael ( ; ; ) is a centre-right, liberal-conservative, Christian democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil Éireann. The party had a member ...

politician who served as a

Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( ; ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish language, Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The official Engli ...

(TD) for the

Dún Laoghaire Dún Laoghaire ( , ) is a suburban coastal town in County Dublin in Ireland. It is the administrative centre of the county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. The town was built up alongside a small existing settlement following 1816 legislation th ...

constituency from 1982 to 1992 and 1997 to 2002. She was a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

for the

Labour Panel The Labour Panel is one of five vocational panels which together elect 43 of the 60 members of Seanad Éireann, the senate of the Oireachtas (the legislature of Ireland). The Labour Panel elects eleven senators. Election Article 18 of the Const ...

from February 1982 to November 1982 and a Member of the

Council of State A council of state is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head ...

from 1991 to 1995. She was a feminist and women's right activist who co-founded the Council for the Status of Women (now the

National Women's Council National Women's Council was a women's organization on The Bahamas, founded in 1958. It was the second women's organization in The Bahamas and the leading women's association for several decades, and played a significant role as one of the two big ...

Early life

Barnes was born Monica MacDermott on 12 February 1936 in Carrickmacross, County Monaghan. Her father was a trade unionist who worked at the Gypsum Industries Factory in

Kingscourt Kingscourt, historically known as Dunaree (), is a town in County Cavan, Ireland. It is located near the Cavan–Meath border. The town was founded near the site of the old village of Cabra, by Mervyn Pratt, towards the end of the 18th century, ...

County Cavan County Cavan ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is based on the hi ...

. She was educated at the Louis Convent,

Carrickmacross Carrickmacross () is a town in County Monaghan, Ireland. The population was 5,745 at the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, making it the second-largest town in the county. Carrickmacross is a market town which developed around a castle buil ...

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

, a boarding school to which she won a county council scholarship. She failed the

Leaving Certificate A secondary school leaving qualification is a document signifying that the holder has fulfilled any secondary education requirements of their locality, often including the passage of a final qualification examination. For each leaving certificate ...

Mathematics exam, which meant she could not progress to university. She worked in London as a clerk in the London Stock Exchange. After returning to Ireland, she met and married Bob Barnes and the couple moved to Rathmines, Dublin. Barnes had two daughters and a son. After the birth of her first child, she later said she suffered from

post-natal depression The postpartum (or postnatal) period begins after childbirth and is typically considered to last for six to eight weeks. There are three distinct phases of the postnatal period; the acute phase, lasting for six to twelve hours after birth; the ...

, a condition largely unrecognised in Ireland at the time. She was told by her doctor to "pull yourself together". Subsequently, she set up a support group for women with the condition and began to take an interest in equality and women's rights.

Political activism

In 1973, the Report of the Commission on the Status of Women was published, identifying 49 discriminations to be removed and 19 suggestions as to how the status of women in Ireland could be improved. Also in 1973, the Irish government requested permission from the

European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organisation created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...

(EEC) to delay implementation of the Equal Pay directive when the country joined. In response, Barnes co-founded the Council for the Status of Women in 1973 (renamed the National Women's Council of Ireland in 1995), a move which prompted her to fully commit herself to politics. The Minister for Labour, Michael O'Leary, appointed Barnes to the Employment Equality Agency set up under the Employment Equality Act 1977. In 1975, Barnes founded and was chairwoman of Woman Elect, an organisation to encourage and support women to stand for election.

Electoral politics

Living in

Glenageary Glenageary ( ) is an area on the Southside, Dublin, Southside of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. While it has no formal boundary, it is surrounded by the areas of Dalkey, Dún Laoghaire, Glasthule, Johnsto ...

in south

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 ...

, Barnes was active in the

Fine Gael constituency organisation dominated by the conservative

Liam Cosgrave Liam Cosgrave (13 April 1920 – 4 October 2017) was an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 1973 to 1977, Leader of Fine Gael from 1965 to 1977, Leader of the Opposition from 1965 to 1973, Minister for External Affairs fro ...

. Barnes was firmly in the FitzGerald wing of the party. She unsuccessfully contested the

1979 European Parliament election The 1979 European Parliament election was a series of parliamentary elections held across all 9 (at the time) European Community member states. They were the first European elections to be held, allowing citizens to elect 410 MEPs to the Eur ...

in the

Leinster Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland. The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...

constituency (which did not include Dublin), which was not regarded seriously by mainstream politicians at the time. Barnes unsuccessfully contested the 1981 general election in the Dún Laoghaire constituency, and after a further defeat at the February 1982 general election she was elected to the

16th Seanad The 16th Seanad was in office from 1982 to 1983. An election to Seanad Éireann, the senate of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament), followed the February 1982 general election to the 23rd Dáil. The senators served until the close of poll for the ...

as a Senator on the

. She was first elected to

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 ...

at the November 1982 general election, topping the poll for Fine Gael. In 1983, she opposed the wording of the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution, which gave equal right to life of the unborn and pregnant women. She was subjected to a hate campaign and received death threats during this time. "I had to stand up for women, and for the health and future of women". Columnist

Gene Kerrigan Gene Kerrigan is an Irish journalist and novelist who grew up in Cabra in Dublin. His works include political commentary on Ireland since the 1970s in such publications as ''Magill'' magazine and the '' Sunday Independent'' newspaper. He has als ...

recalled that in 1984, when dozens of "peace" women were arrested during the visit of US President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

, Monica Barnes was the only politician to visit them in the cells of the Bridewell, where they were held until the president had departed. She lost her seat in Dún Laoghaire at the 1992 general election but was elected in 1993 to the

20th Seanad The 20th Seanad was in office from 1993 to 1997. An election to Seanad Éireann, the senate of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament), followed the 1992 general election to the 27th Dáil. The senators served until the close of poll for the 21st S ...

. She unsuccessfully contested the

1994 European Parliament election The 1994 European Parliamentary election was a European election held across the 12 European Union member states in June 1994. This election saw the merge of the European People's Party and European Democrats, an increase in the overall numbe ...

. She was re-elected to the Dáil at the 1997 general election and retired from political life at the 2002 general election.

Political views

Barnes was credited as a

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

and an advocate of women's rights. She was seen as having made a critical intervention that led to the passing of the Health (Family Planning) (Amendment) Bill 1985, which gave Irish adults the right to purchase non-medical

contraceptives Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth control only be ...

without having to get a doctor's prescription, which passed the Dáil by a margin of 82 to 79. Barnes was also been identified as being on the

social liberal Social liberalism is a political philosophy and variety of liberalism that endorses social justice, social services, a mixed economy, and the expansion of civil and political rights, as opposed to classical liberalism which favors limited g ...

wing of Fine Gael in the 1980s, which was formed and led by

Garret FitzGerald Garret Desmond FitzGerald (9 February 192619 May 2011) was an Irish Fine Gael politician, economist, and barrister who served twice as Taoiseach, serving from 1981 to 1982 and 1982 to 1987. He served as Leader of Fine Gael from 1977 to 1987 an ...

Death

Barnes died on 2 May 2018 at her home in

, County Dublin aged 82.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, Monica 1936 births 2018 deaths Fine Gael TDs Fine Gael senators Irish feminists Irish women's rights activists Members of the 16th Seanad 20th-century women members of Seanad Éireann Members of the 24th Dáil Members of the 25th Dáil Members of the 26th Dáil Members of the 28th Dáil 20th-century women Teachtaí Dála 21st-century women Teachtaí Dála Politicians from Dún Laoghaire Presidential appointees to the Council of State (Ireland) People from Carrickmacross Politicians from County Monaghan People educated at St. Louis Secondary School, Carrickmacross Labour Panel senators