Tributes are pouring in for feminist and campaigner Nell McCafferty who has died at the age of 80.
An iconic figure, who blazed the trail for women, was born in Derry’s Bogside in 1944.
The journalist passed away at a Donegal nursing home in the early hours of this morning.
She is best known as a trailblazing activist who spoke out about the scandals in the Catholic Church and the Kerry Babies Case.
Nell was also an advocate for women’s rights and was on the 1971 condom train which brought back illegal contraception from Belfast.
Fearless and feisty, as she’s been described the Taoiseach, she wasn’t afraid to speak out.
Nell was also on the infamous 1971 condom train and wasn’t afraid to challenge those in power.
President Michael D. Higgins paid tribute to the iconic feminist and campaigner.
"Nell McCafferty was a pioneer in raising those searching questions which could be asked, but which had been buried, hidden or neglected. Indeed, this is one of the aspects which was most remarkable from the very beginning in her work.
"For example, Nell knew that standing behind the rituals of courts and unfortunate defendants, there was always a complex story which she had a gifted empathy to understand. In her column, ‘In the Eyes of the Law’, she opened people’s eyes to the operation of the District Court and its interaction with those who found themselves before it.
"Nell had a unique gift in stirring people’s consciousness, and this made her advocacy formidable on behalf of those who had been excluded from society. A defining feature across Nell’s life was such a fierce drive to tackle repression, poverty and authoritarianism wherever she saw it.
"Across so many areas, including her work on the Kerry Babies case captured in her book ‘A Woman to Blame’, the Troubles, her own life experience and so many other areas beside, Nell’s writing remains a compelling and courageous record of those decades.
"As a writer and activist, including as a co-founder of the Irish Women’s Liberation Movement, Nell McCafferty played a vital role and leaves a true legacy in fighting for feminism and women’s rights across the island.
"Paying tribute to Nell on her 80th birthday earlier this year, I said that “those who have had Nell as a friend and an ally are very fortunate in their being given the gift of experiencing humanity in all its possibilities and vulnerabilities, and delivered as she did it with a sense of humour that paid tribute to the authenticity of her Derry upbringing.”
"Sabina and myself were privileged to be friends of Nell and to have experienced her enduring strength, courage, warmth and humour. She will be deeply missed by us all.
"May I express my deepest condolences to Nell’s family, colleagues and many friends.”
Funeral Details
The funeral for Nell’s will take place at her sister Carmel's residence, 43 Belmont Crescent from 3:30pm this afternoon, Wednesday 21st August.
Funeral leaving from there on Friday 23rd August at 11:45am for 12:30pm Requiem Mass in St. Columba's Church, Longtower.
A private cremation will take place afterwards in Lakelands Crematorium, Co. Cavan.
Nell’s Requiem Mass can be streamed live via the link below: https://longtowerchurch.org/webcam/
Keep up to date with all the latest showbiz news on our website, beat102103.com.
