Eileen M. Hickey
Eileen Mary Hickey (1886 – 3 February 1960) was a politician in Northern Ireland.[1]
Hickey studied at Queen's University Belfast, where she received a BSc, MD and DPH,[2] before working as a civil servant at the Mater Hospital in Belfast. She became a member of the Board of Governors and was later President of the Ulster Medical Society.[3]
In 1929, she was appointed clinical examiner in medicine at Queen's University, the first woman to hold the post.[4] In 1945, she was appointed to the Advisory Committee for the Belfast Area under the Unemployment Act (Northern Ireland), 1934,[5] while in 1949, she was appointed to the Irish National Health Council.[3]
Hickey was nominated by Roman Catholic graduates of Queen's University as their candidate in the Queen's University, Belfast by-election, 1948, but was easily defeated by Samuel Irwin.[6] She was again nominated for the Queen's University of Belfast constituency at the 1949 Northern Ireland general election[7] and was elected this time. She served as an independent Member of Parliament.[3] While there, she was viewed as a potential ally by the Anti-Partition of Ireland League MPs.[8]
Hickey was re-elected in 1953 but stood down in 1958.[3] A committee of the Parliament of Northern Ireland concluded that her Advisory Committee post constituted an office of profit under the crown, even though she never claimed or received any remuneration. This officially invalidated her elections.[5]
References[edit]
- ^ "Card catalogue of debates and oral and written questions in the Northern Ireland House of Commons and Senate, arranged by subject, 1921-1972". Sources for Irish Women’s History. Irish Manuscripts Commission. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
- ^ Commonwealth Universities Yearbook (1958)
- ^ a b c d Biographies of Members of the Northern Ireland House of Commons
- ^ Ida Clyde Gallagher Clarke, Women of Today (1929)
- ^ a b Arthur Maltby, The Government of Northern Ireland, 1922–72
- ^ Northern Ireland Parliamentary Election Results: University
- ^ Women in 20th-Century Ireland, 1922–1966 Search Results, National Archives of Ireland
- ^ Women in 20th-Century Ireland, 1922–1966 Search Results, National Archives of Ireland
- 1886 births
- 1960 deaths
- Alumni of Queen's University Belfast
- Members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland 1949–1953
- Members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland 1953–1958
- Independent members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland
- Women members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland
- Members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland for Queen's University of Belfast