Maureen Haughey

Maureen Frances Lemass was born in Dublin on September 3rd 1925, the eldest child of Seán and Kathleen Lemass.

She attended Muckross Park College where she was a diligent student and a keen camogie player. She went on to UCD to obtain her BA Commerce degree. Childhood holidays were spent in Skerries and her teenage social life involved going to tennis club dances and cycling in the Dublin Mountains, among other things!

In UCD she met her future husband, Charlie Haughey, and they were married in Beechwood Avenue Church, Ranelagh, on September 18th 1951. Maureen spent the early part of her married life in Raheny, before the family finally moved to Abbeville, Kinsaley, in 1969

As the wife of Charles Haughey, she represented Ireland with style, elegance and dignity at State functions, both at home and abroad.

An accomplished horsewoman, she hunted regularly with the Fingal Harriers and was actively involved with the Riding for the Disabled Association. She also loved dogs and was a successful breeder and exporter of Irish wolfhounds.

Maureen played a key supporting role in Charlie's political life and canvassed for him in his early elections. She was always on hand at election time to welcome the canvassers back to the constituency headquarters and to ensure that their catering needs were attended to. As the wife of Charles Haughey, she represented Ireland with style, elegance and dignity at State functions, both at home and abroad.

Maureen devoted herself to the rearing of her 4 children - Eimear, Conor, Ciaran and Seán. In later years she became a conscientious grandmother to her 8 loving grandchildren. She also ensured the smooth running of a busy political household where frequent callers to Abbeville witnessed her unfailing charm and legendry hospitality. She loved most of all being surrounded by family and friends particularly on holidays on Inis Mhicileáin and in the west Kerry town of Dingle.

She was a great judge of character and deeply loyal to her friends. Like her father, she appreciated a good game of poker. She was an avid reader of novels and loved to sit out in the sun. She was a keen observer of politics and enjoyed nothing better than to sing along to a good old fashioned rebel song. She was the daughter of a Fianna Fáil Taoiseach and the wife of another. She had a ringside seat to observe the tumultuous events of Irish politics for several decades. By any standards, Maureen Haughey was a truly remarkable Irish woman.