Theresa Ahearn (; 1 May 1951 – 20 September 2000) 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 ...

for the Tipperary South constituency from 1989 to 2000.

Political career

Her first elected office was as a member of South Tipperary County Council from 1983 until 1999. Noted as a highly effective

orator An orator, or oratist, is a public speaker, especially one who is eloquent or skilled. Etymology Recorded in English c. 1374, with a meaning of "one who pleads or argues for a cause", from Anglo-French ''oratour'', Old French ''orateur'' (14 ...

, she was elected to the 26th Dáil as a Fine Gael TD for Tipperary South at the 1989 general election, becoming the only female Fine Gael deputy representing a rural constituency in the Dáil. She was re-elected at the

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

and the

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

general elections. She served as Fine Gael spokesperson on higher-education in 1991, at one time calling for the

Dublin Institute of Technology Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT, ) was a major third-level institution in Dublin, Ireland. On 1 January 2019 DIT was dissolved and its functions were transferred to the Technological University Dublin, as TU Dublin City Campus. The insti ...

to be granted the power to award their own degrees, stating "The colleges, in particular the DIT, at this stage rightly claim to have long experience of teaching to degree level... I suggest that now is the time to give the colleges this power to award their own degrees". She was appointed as a Fine Gael spokesperson on Labour in 1992, and from 1992 to 1993 on Energy. She was the spokesperson on Women's Affairs and Chairperson of Oireachtas Committee on Women's Rights 1993–1995. She had been the Fine Gael Junior spokesperson on Equality and Disability since September 1997. Ahearn was a member of the Joint Committees on Foreign Affairs and on Justice, Equality and Women's Rights, and of the Committee on Procedure and Privileges.

Personal life

Theresa Scott was born in

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

in 1951. She was from Golden,

County Tipperary County Tipperary () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary (tow ...

. She was educated 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 ...

graduating with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in History, Economics and Maths, and

St Patrick's College, Maynooth St Patrick's Pontifical University, Maynooth (), is a pontifical Catholic university in the town of Maynooth near Dublin, Ireland Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mou ...

with a Higher Diploma in Education, qualifying as a post-primary school teacher. She married Liam Ahearn in 1981, and they had four sons. They lived on the family farm near

Clonmel Clonmel () is the county town and largest settlement of County Tipperary, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is noted in Irish history for its resistance to the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, Cromwellian army which sacked the towns of Dro ...

, County Tipperary; her husband was a farmer. Until her election to the Dáil, she taught mathematics at the Central Technical Institute, Clonmel. Ahearn died of cancer on 20 September 2000 at Mount Carmel Hospital,

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 ...

. At the time of her death she was both a member of Fine Gael's National Executive Committee, and the first-ever female trustee of the party. In the by-election after death, her Dáil seat in Tipperary South was retained for Fine Gael by Tom Hayes of Kilfeakle. She was the second TD in that constituency to die in 2000, the Labour Party's Michael Ferris having died on 20 March. One of her sons, Garret Ahearn, was elected to

Seanad Éireann Seanad Éireann ( ; ; "Senate of Ireland") is the senate of the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann (defined as the house of representatives). It is commonly called the Seanad or ...

in April 2020.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahearn, Theresa 1951 births 2000 deaths Fine Gael TDs Members of the 26th Dáil Members of the 27th Dáil Members of the 28th Dáil 20th-century women Teachtaí Dála 21st-century women Teachtaí Dála Members of South Tipperary County Council Alumni of University College Dublin Alumni of St Patrick's College, Maynooth Deaths from cancer in the Republic of Ireland People from Golden, County Tipperary