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Individuals such as Maud Griffith, Rita Childers or Maeve Hillery do not feature prominently in the annals of Irish history. A cursory search for literature about them might lead to the conclusion that they were almost entirely unknown outside of their personal circles. While Sinéad de Valera’s name might receive more recognition due to her literary work and famous husband, overall there would be little, other than their surnames, to indicate these women’s historical significance as Irish first ladies. Their relative obscurity is hardly surprising, however. In Irish First Ladies and First Gentlemen, 1919-2011, Bernadette Whelan succinctly defines the contradictory nature of the role of Irish first spouse as ‘a gendered, often ignored function mainly due to the lack of interest in it from officials, public and journalists alike’. (p.197) Whelan’s book therefore shines a much-needed light on the lives of the Irish first ladies and first gentlemen, a subject that, until now, has received little scholarly attention. She is comprehensive in her approach, considering not only first ladies and first gentlemen, but also examining the roles played by vicereines and the wives of governors general in the early twentieth century.

            Before opening this book, I expected to encounter detailed accounts of charitable interests and public engagements undertaken by the various presidential spouses in the course of their duties. While such matters are undoubtedly key to a first spouse’s role, Whelan’s nuanced perspective reveals the everyday reality of a role with a paradox at its heart – on one hand lacking formal recognition as a skilled role with distinct duties in its own right, yet simultaneously endowed with the highest expectations of discretion, professionalism and commitment to public service. First ladies were required to sacrifice personal preferences and ambitions, renounce their employment and uproot their existence to take up residence in Áras an Uachtaráin – considerable sacrifices which receive little acknowledgement or reward. Indeed, there was little tolerance of failure or even minor mistakes. Whelan emphasises that ‘not only is an appropriate official title for the spouse of the president largely absent from the official and public discourse in Ireland but so also is a definition, even an imprecise one, of the role’. She highlights that Michael McDunphy’s 1945 manual detailing the presidential role ‘did not refer to the first lady’. (p.8)

Rather than focusing solely on her subjects’ tenure as first spouse, Whelan examines them throughout their lives, chronicling their path to the role of presidential spouse alongside their lives in the aftermath of the Áras. She provides fascinating details of the early lives of her subjects. Irish first spouses comprised a diverse group of individuals. Lucy Hyde, for example, had no familial connections to Ireland, Máirín Uí Dhálaigh was born in India where her father worked with the Royal Munster Fusiliers, while Maeve Hillery began her life in Sheffield, England. Whelan’s work also explores the unique dynamics of each presidential marriage. Sinéad de Valera undertook a traditional supportive role to her husband, taking primary responsibility for household matters and her children’s upbringing. Phyllis Uí Cheallaigh was forced to step back from her successful career when her husband became president and during their marriage the couple ‘suffered many stillbirths and miscarriages’. (p.114) The Childers, Hillery’s, Robinsons and McAleeses brought their children to live in the Áras, facing challenges with education and accommodation while resident there. The chapter concerning life after the Áras is particularly interesting. The financial hardship and unhappiness experienced by the widowed Maud Griffith as she fought for recognition of her husband’s memory is particularly poignant.

As the twentieth century advanced, the changing lives of first spouses reflected the transformation of societal attitudes towards women. While many of the vicereines, wives of the governors general and early presidential spouses fulfilled a traditional supportive role for their spouse and were not provided with assistance such as secretarial services, later first ladies had established professional identities before becoming first lady. Phyllis Uí Cheallaigh was a highly successful scientist who had demanded equal pay during her career, Máirín Uí Dhálaigh was a Celtic scholar and Maeve Hillery was a doctor. The arrival of two first gentlemen in the Áras in the 1990s and 2000s as a result of the election of two women presidents signalled a seismic change in Irish society. Study of their time as presidential spouse allows for comparison between their experiences and those of the preceding first ladies.

Whelan remarks that ‘two assumptions were made: first, that a first gentleman could have a choice, and second, his career equated in importance to that of his wife’s, even though she was now president’. While ‘discussions about first gentlemen are heavily infused by gendered assumptions – the male first spouse has options, including fulfilling a political role and exercising life choices such as continuing in paid employment, mostly unavailable to a first lady’. (p.8) Nicholas Robinson reduced his professional commitments on becoming first gentleman, but did not face the same weight of expectation to renounce paid work as a first lady. Whelan explains that he was ‘spared media attention on his personal appearance and did not have to grapple with the recurrent first ladies’ anxiety about dressing appropriately’. (pp 210-211) Martin McAleese gave up his employment when his wife became president, however he participated actively in her presidency, supporting her in the traditional manner, but also becoming involved in ‘informal diplomacy and mediation’ to build relationships with Northern Irish loyalists. (p.230) It is difficult to imagine a first lady being permitted to carry out such a role – for instance, Rita Childers, a politically-skilled, public relations expert, active across many causes was ‘careful not to be seen to interfere in political affairs’. (p.259)

The evolving nature of both the roles of president and first spouse provide a unique lens through which a changing Ireland is revealed. The country where President Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh told an audience in 1975 that boys could ‘aspire to become an Irish-speaking president, but Irish-speaking girls could marry a president and educate their children as Irish speakers’ changed fundamentally during the ensuing decades which saw a woman become president in 1990. (p.181) Áras an Uachtaráin, the presidential residence, emerges as a distinct character in its own right. Whelan’s work demonstrates how the structure grew and changed organically during each presidential tenure, with its upkeep and renovations central to the narrative and often forming the basis of tension between the OPW (Office of Public Works), the government and presidential couples.  

Some individuals emerge from this narrative more vividly than others, notably Sinéad de Valera. While it is clearly important not to judge aspects of earlier first ladies’ lives through the perspective of modern feminism, the personal toll taken by her extremely challenging marriage and husband’s political ambitions would ideally warrant more explicit recognition and discussion. While a strong bond appeared to exist between the couple, the marriage saw a heavy burden of responsibility laid on Sinéad. A resilient, capable woman and a talented writer, there is a strong sense that she lacked confidence in her abilities, describing her ‘literary output as an “old woman’s vanity”’. (p.124) Her ‘fortitude, practicality…sense of duty, humility and modesty’ and her ‘absence of complaining or self-pity’ are noted, however these praiseworthy attributes serve to emphasise that unspoken self-sacrifice is often expected of women – first ladies in particular. (pp 21-22) An element of self-sacrifice underlies the story of each first lady and first gentlemen – first spouses often found themselves performing a role that they had not prepared for. Whelan effectively captures the unique story of each individual and how they adapted to this constantly evolving role in a rapidly-changing society.

Suzanne Jobling has recently completed her PhD at Queen’s University Belfast. Her thesis considers employment equality legislation and equal pay and sex discrimination cases taken by women workers in the Republic of Ireland and UK, between 1970 and the early 1990s. Her first article was published by Irish Economic and Social History in 2023. She is currently working as a part-time lecturer and teaching assistant at Queen’s University Belfast.