Death of Mary Holland

Mary Holland

Former Irish Times journalist Mary Holland died on Monday night after an illness. Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams expressed condolences to Kitty and Luke Holland on the death of their mother. Adams said: "Mary was a very courageous journalist who will be missed by all who knew her."

"Mary Holland was a greatly admired journalist because of her integrity and courage and she will be missed by all who knew her. Her coverage of Ireland, from the 1970s did a lot to change how the North was covered as it challenged the bias and censorship of the time. She brought this same integrity to all her journalistic work and was often a voice for those most marginalised in our society.

"I want to extend my condolences to Kitty and Luke and to all of Mary's family and friends. Our thoughts are with them at this time."

Here, Sinn Féin US representative and former Director of Publicity and An Phoblacht editor, Rita O'Hare, pays tribute to Mary Holland.

I first met Mary Holland in Derry in 1976. She was covering a Civil Rights march for the Observer newspaper. I saw her later that day and remember noting that she was reporting from inside the barricades.

From the beginning, Mary Holland's reportage on the North was not written from press handouts but from her own observation and interaction with people. She talked to everyone, from leading politicians to the mothers bringing parcels to Long Kesh, and treated all views with respect.

I got to know Mary well, both as a journalist and as a friend, when she moved to Dublin in 1973 with her then partner Eamonn McCann and their children, Kitty and Luke. She wrote extensively about what was happening in the North and paid for her integrity and independence when she refused to toe the line on Ireland. She was disgracefully sacked by Conor Cruise O'Brien, editor of the Observer, in 1979 because she wrote of the women visiting political prisoners in Long Kesh as human beings. He did not succeed in silencing her.

Mary was also active in the emerging Women's Movement in Ireland, and was scathing about the hypocrisy and double standards of those who opposed and tried to thwart the achievements of the most basic of rights for women.

Mary Holland's compassion was evident in her writings; she cared deeply about Ireland and played a considerable role in the Peace Process.

It was undoubtedly Mary's perception and understanding that influenced how the emerging Peace Process was understood by many people. Mary Holland has left a remarkable legacy in journalism. She will be missed by her many many friends. With deepest sympathy to Kitty and Luke, granddaughter Rosie, and Eamonn.