Marian Donnelly
Encyclopedia
Marian Donnelly is a former President of the Workers' Party of Ireland
and is a member of the District Policing Partnership for the Magherafelt
district of Northern Ireland
.
Born Marian Devlin in Castledawson
, County Londonderry
in August 1938, she first became involved in political activity in 1955 when she campaigned for the republican candidate Tom Mitchell in the Mid Ulster
constituency and in the re-run of that election after Mitchell was barred from being a candidate because he was in jail for republican activities at the time.
Donnelly was a founding member and the first Secretary of the South Derry Civil Rights Association, a branch of the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association
. Her husband, Francie Donnelly was its first Chairman and is also a prominent member of the Workers' Party.
Ms. Donnelly trained as a primary teacher and later also taught at second level.
She became active in Sinn Féin
in the 1960s and when the organisation split in 1970 she remained with Official Sinn Féin which subsequently became the Workers' Party. She has contested several elections on behalf of the party.
In March 1992 Marian Donnelly was elected as President of the Workers' Party following the breakaway of a parliamentary grouping from the party, making her the second female leader of an Irish political party and at the time the first woman to lead a party which was represented in Dáil Éireann
. She retired from the position in 1994 but has remained an active member of the Workers' Party.
She has been a member of the Glen GAC
Club in her native Derry and is actively involved in the Brackaghreilly and District Community Association.
She and her husband have three adult children.
Workers' Party of Ireland
The Workers' Party is a left-wing republican political party in Ireland. Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970 after a split within the party, adopting its current name in 1982....
and is a member of the District Policing Partnership for the Magherafelt
Magherafelt
Magherafelt is a small town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 8,372 people recorded in the 2001 Census. It is the biggest town in the south of County Londonderry and is the social, economic and political hub of the area...
district of Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
.
Born Marian Devlin in Castledawson
Castledawson
Castledawson is a village in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is mostly within the townland of Shanemullagh , about four miles from the north-western shore of Lough Neagh, and close to the market town of Magherafelt...
, County Londonderry
County Londonderry
The place name Derry is an anglicisation of the old Irish Daire meaning oak-grove or oak-wood. As with the city, its name is subject to the Derry/Londonderry name dispute, with the form Derry preferred by nationalists and Londonderry preferred by unionists...
in August 1938, she first became involved in political activity in 1955 when she campaigned for the republican candidate Tom Mitchell in the Mid Ulster
Mid Ulster (UK Parliament constituency)
Mid Ulster is a Parliamentary Constituency in the British House of Commons.-Boundaries:The constituency was created in 1950 when the old two-seat constituency of Fermanagh and Tyrone was abolished as part of the final move to single member seats...
constituency and in the re-run of that election after Mitchell was barred from being a candidate because he was in jail for republican activities at the time.
Donnelly was a founding member and the first Secretary of the South Derry Civil Rights Association, a branch of the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association
Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association
The Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association was an organisation which campaigned for equal civil rights for the all the people in Northern Ireland during the late 1960s and early 1970s...
. Her husband, Francie Donnelly was its first Chairman and is also a prominent member of the Workers' Party.
Ms. Donnelly trained as a primary teacher and later also taught at second level.
She became active in Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
in the 1960s and when the organisation split in 1970 she remained with Official Sinn Féin which subsequently became the Workers' Party. She has contested several elections on behalf of the party.
In March 1992 Marian Donnelly was elected as President of the Workers' Party following the breakaway of a parliamentary grouping from the party, making her the second female leader of an Irish political party and at the time the first woman to lead a party which was represented in Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann is the lower house, but principal chamber, of the Oireachtas , which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann . It is directly elected at least once in every five years under the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote...
. She retired from the position in 1994 but has remained an active member of the Workers' Party.
She has been a member of the Glen GAC
Glen GAC
Watty Graham's GAC Glen is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in Maghera, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The team draws players from Maghera and some surrounding townlands. They currently cater for Gaelic football, Ladies' Gaelic football and Camogie.Glen are also committed to Scor,...
Club in her native Derry and is actively involved in the Brackaghreilly and District Community Association.
She and her husband have three adult children.