Mary Hughes

By Marie Moore

I first met Mary Hughes in the early 1970s when she was appointed to represent the New Lodge Road's Fergal O'Hanlon Sinn Féin cumann on what was then the Belfast Comhairle. With her trademark dry wit and sharp tongue, Mary quickly proved herself a diligent worker who involved herself in all aspects of Comhairle Ceantair life.

It was not long before Mary's exceptional organising ability was discovered and put to use when she, Tom Hartley and others were tasked to organise the Easter parade. Likewise, when the Prisoner of War Department was established and the office opened, Mary played a central role in organising the running of the office. She remained in the POW department throughout the no wash protest and both hunger strikes. She was one of a number of women who at that time assisted with the trafficking of communications to and from the jails, between wings and blocks and with the women in Armagh Jail. At a time when communication from the jails was of crucial importance to efforts aimed at highlighting the appalling conditions to which political prisoners were subjected, Mary played a leading role in the process. In the course of this work, she met most of the hunger strikers in person and endured the traumatic experience of talking to their families before and after visits. She is remembered for this in the book ``Ten Men Dead'', in which she is referred to as ``Kitten'', a name given to her by the prisoners.

In the 1980s, Mary moved from the POW Deprtment to the An Phoblacht office in Belfast and at the same time took charge of Sinn Féin finances in the city, where her legendary thriftiness ensured tightest possible control of party coffers. Running the paper's office with a strong hand, Mary was successful in extracting it from a position of debt and placing it for the first time in the black.

After leaving the paper, Mary became part of the Sinn Féin Six-County Comhairle, serving initially as organiser before assuming the role of secretary, a position she held at the time of her death. During her long period of service on this body, Mary made an impression in her inimitable fashion. She will be remembered by comrades and friends as the person who streamlined the Comhairle office, who kept the organisation in the Six Counties abreast of policy developments and decisions and for her sterling efforts with regard to the organisation of the party's Ard Fheis. Such was Mary's commitment that despite the severity of her illness, she continued with this work until her death.

Those who knew her will confirm that Mary was a very private person and one who had a very strong sense of family. When her father became ill, it was Mary who took time off to nurse him. It was Mary to whom family members turned when they needed help with a problem. There can be no doubting the enormity of the loss suffered by Mary's family with her death. In extending to them the heartfelt condolences of the entire republican community, I would urge family members to remember in times of despair what Mary often said to those in need of assistance - ``I cannot solve your problem but I will advise and find out what is needed. You're the person to solve the problem.''

From the day she became a member of the republican movement until that of her death after a short battle against cancer, Mary Hughes was a shoulder upon which we were all invited to lean. While Mary would have been the first to argue that nobody is indispensable, those of us in Sinn Féin who have survived her will know only too well that replacing her will be difficult if not impossible.

All of us have lost something with the death of Mary Hughes. All of us will have our own memories of her. Some will remember her dry wit while others will remember her work as a republican and others still the craic, the fun, the incomparable hostess, companion and friend. Old friend and very dear comrade slan leat from us all.

Carmella Dowen

Carmella, who was born in Ireland, was a founding member of Australian Aid to Ireland and a tireless worker and educator on the Irish question. Carmella engaged in many struggles, including Aboriginal land rights, the abolition of the white Australia policy, the Aliens Act, and full equal opportunity for the Aboriginal people to enter universities. Carmella is survived by her family.

Sister Kathleen McEvoy

Sister McEvoy (Sister Joseph) formally of Abbeyleix, Co. Laois, was a tireless worker through Amnesty International for Irish republican prisoners and raised the question with the pope on his visit to Australia. Kathleen said she thought "His Holiness' was not well informed.
Grace Swebel

Mrs Grace Swebel, 86 years, who was of Irish origin, through her trade union work and many international contacts, never failed in highlighting the atrocities of the British army and their cohorts in occupied Ireland.