A celebrated voice and a trailblazer, Nell McCafferty passed away at the age of 80 due to declined health condition. Her legacy will remain for years to come!
Key Takeaways
- Nell McCafferty passed away on 21st August 2024.
- She was an Irish journalist, playwright, civil rights campaigner and feminist.
- McCafferty was a founding member of the Irish Women’s Liberation Movement.
Nell McCafferty’s Life Was Spent Making A Difference
As a feminist and a journalist, Nell McCafferty has had much influence in Ireland.
Throughout her lifetime, she made several changes that would impact not only the women in her country but also those living outside it.
It would not, even slightly, be wrong to say that Nell was way ahead of her time.
One of her most notable actions includes “smuggling” contraceptives in Ireland when it was put to a ban in the 70s.
The “Irish Women’s Liberation Movement” stood against the prohibition of the import and sale of contraceptives in the country.
Nell, through her journalism, had written,
“Women’s Liberation is finding it very hard to explain the difference, when you come down to it, except in terms of physical make-up. And men are as different as women, which no-one holds against them. It’s the system which divides. Break the system, unite the people.”
Via Born Of Small Memories », Irish Times, 8 October 1970, p.6.
Moreover, her book, “A Woman to Blame” covered the aspects of not only women’s rights but also the Kerry Babies case.
Besides being an advocate for women’s rights, Nell also stood firm for the lives of children.
As for her career in journalism, she has worked for the Irish Times, the Sunday Tribune, and Hot Press and was regularly present on the panels on TV programs and radio.
Nell McCafferty Departure
McCafferty’s demise shook and saddened the world. Many came forward with condolences for the late Derry journalist.
Taoiseach Simon Harris said,
“If she was in the room or in the debate, you knew about it. Her passion and wrath was not scattergun, it had a laser-like focus on calling out inequality and injustice. She suffered no fools but had a kindness and warmth for many. Her wit and Derry turn of phrase made her impossible to ignore. As one of the women who took the train in 1971, she set in train an unstoppable wave for equality and a changing of Ireland for the better. That change has not yet reached its conclusion but it would be nowhere if it wasn’t for warriors like Nell.”
Via donegal live
He added,
“In an Ireland trying to emerge from the shadows and find who it was, Nell McCafferty was one of the people who knew exactly who she was and wasn’t afraid to enter every battle for gay and women’s rights. We all owe her a great debt for this. Nell McCafferty left Ireland a much better place than she found it and she played her part with spirit and style.
Via donegal live
May she rest in peace.”
Further, SDLP leader and Foyle MP Colum Eastwood said,
“Very sorry to hear about the de*th of Nell McCafferty. A mould breaker and establishment shaker, she spoke truth to power like only a Derry woman could.
Via donegal live
An icon for so many people across Ireland. Nell will be sadly missed but her activism will endure.”
Among many other Irish leaders, Ireland’s Labour Party leader Ivana Bacik also said,
“Deeply saddened to hear today about the de*th of the wonderful, fearless and unique feminist icon – Nell McCafferty.
Via donegal live
It was an honour and a privilege to have known Nell, and to have had such fun with her over the years. Deep sympathies to all her family and friends.”
Nell McCafferty Had A Stroke
Nell McCafferty’s cause of her departure was a stroke. In fact, she has had multiple strokes in the latter part of her life.
One of those even robbed of her eyesight and put her in a period of coma.
While talking about her coma, she said,
There was no bright light to walk toward or any of that. I came back out of it and I’d forgotten it all – what a waste of a good coma! My tongue was hanging out the side of my mouth while I was on a respirator and I couldn’t understand how they either didn’t put the tongue back in or at least take a picture. They could have taken a picture, sold it to the tabloids and given the proceeds to the homeless.
Her health condition kept declining after she started getting strokes.
Besides this, in an interview with The Irish Times, McCafferty also admitted that her mother had a stroke at 90.
In Case You Didn’t Know
- Nell McCaffery was born in Derry, Northern Ireland, to parents Hugh and Lily McCafferty.
- She had a degree in Arts from Queen’s University Belfast (QUB).
- McCaffery was in a relationship with journalist Nuala O’Faolain.
