Saluting the role of Carrie Acheson and the late Theresa Ahearn who were the only female TD's returned from the Tipperary South constituency

Two trailblazing women Carrie Acheson and the late Theresa Ahearn both made an indelible mark on politics at local and national level .
Both women, displaying characteristic determination, forged their political careers in the male dominated world of politics and stand as the only two women to be returned to Dáil Eireann from the Tipperary South constituency since the State was founded.
The achievements of two outstanding women are acknowledged in an impressive exhibition on display in the Main Guard in Clonmel.
Carrie Acheson made history along with her sister Tras when they became the first sisters to be elected as Oireachtas members at the same time in 1981.
Carrie, a much loved and respected figure in her beloved hometown of Clonmel, was the first woman to be returned as a member of Dáil Eireann from the Tipperary South constituency.
The only other female TD to be returned from the constituency also had a part to play in that general election.
Theresa Ahearn, who passed away in 2000 while still a sitting TD, was appointed director of elections for Fine Gael in the Tipperary South constituency in 1981 and eight years later she went on to take a Dáil seat at the first time of asking.
The two women feature in an exhibition entitled 100 Years of Women in Politics and Public Life at the Main Guard in Clonmel.
This exhibition explores 100 years of women’s participation in politics and public life in Ireland.
Curated by Dr Sinéad McCoole, on behalf of the Government’s Commemorations Unit, this exhibition tells the stories of women who have contributed significantly to Irish political and public life over the past century – of the challenges they faced and the obstacles they overcame. It looks at the individual lives of women elected to the Oireachtas over the period 1918 to 2018 and was developed by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media as part of the Decade of Centenaries, a programme of commemorations relating to some of the most significant events in Irish history that took place between 1912 and 1923.
The personal stories of Carrie Acheson and Theresa Ahearn go some way towards explaining why only two women representing Tipperary South were elected to the Dail since the State was founded.
Both struggled with the emotional and logistical challenges of being away from the family home for so long having to stay in Dublin while the Dáil was sitting.
On a visit to the exhibition Carrie said that she was honoured to be elected to Dáil Eireann but she soon realised that it was not for her as she found it very difficult to take herself away from her family in Clonmel for so long every week and when she returned at weekends found she was obliged to carry out a lot of clinics and constituency work.
“Of course I was honoured to be elected. I wanted to go in 1977 but it did not work out and in 1981 there was an expectation that I would go. I did not take to it because I was too long away from my only child and my husband who was farming,” said Carrie.
The following year when another general election was called Carrie approached Charlie Haughey and told him she did not want to go for election again.
The FF leader was having none of it and instructed Carrie to go which she did but did not retain the seat.
She admits to never having been an admirer of Haughey and points to Jack Lynch and Paddy Hillery as two of the leaders she looked up to most.
“I loved local politics, I loved helping people and at the same time I could continue to devote myself to the family and to work at the Barlow company. The Dail was just not my scene. Tras was the born politician of the family and she went on to serve fifteen years in the Senate ” said Carrie.
“I was dedicated to my family and Barlows and the farmers and the Dail took me away from all that. When I was in Dublin for so long every week I had no time with my family and I just did not want that,” said Carrie.
Carrie, who as Mayor of Clonmel in 1981, gave a small present to every widow in the town, said it would have been easier for women who lived in or close to Dublin to be a member of the Dail.
Carrie, who is an avid Tipperary hurling and Liverpool supporter, still keeps in touch with the farming community through her role as Clonmel Show President and she is happy that meetings are resuming again after the Covid disruption.
She greatly admires all the women TD’s that are members of the Dail today regardless of political party and outside of politics she believes fellow Tipperary woman Rachel Blackmore to be the perfect role model for women.

"She would kiss us all goodbye and I always got the sense that she did not want to leave us," - Garret Ahearn

Even though he was only 10 years old at the time Garret Ahearn can vividly recall being in the Morton Street election count centre in Clonmel to see his mother Theresa being lifted shoulder high when she was elected to the 26th Dail in 1989.
“I remember her being lifted in the hall, the excitement was incredible,” said the now Senator Garret Ahearn who has proudly followed in his mothers footsteps by becoming a member of the Oireachtas.
One of four boys, Garret can recall his mother coming into his bedroom at 7am on the Tuesdays she left for Dublin.
“She would kiss us all each goodbye and I always had the sense that she did not want to leave us she always found it difficult to go without us for the weekdays she was away in Dublin. She really valued family time and was always sorry when it came time to leave for Dublin,” said Garret.
As a young boy , because the family home phone was the same as the office phone, Garret can remember the whole house being disrupted by constituents calling at all hours.
“We often were woken up in the early hours of the morning because people would ring when the town of Clonmel was flooded and there was water in their homes,” said Garret.
He can also recall many discussions around the kitchen table on the issues of the day and in particular the pressing issues of the split acute hospital services in Clonmel and Cashel and the controversy surrounding identifying one location for the services. He can also recall the atmosphere in the house and the pressure Treresa was under when it was announced that Digital was to close in Clonmel.
“I’m incredibly proud of my mother's achievements in politics. She was the only rural female Fine Gael TD in the Dáil at that time.
“The lifestyle for women in politics, particularly mothers, was very difficult in the 80s and 90s. I still have memories of discussions we as a family had of how she would manage her work week to also fit in parent teacher meetings, lifts to hurling games and being home on a Sunday afternoon to cook dinner,” said Garret.
He also recalls the moment when his mother was involved in a car accident near their Grange home.
Theresa was travelling in the same car as presidential candidate Mary Banotti near Cahir when the vehicle collided with another car.
“Mary Banotti was canvassing in the area and Mam was helping her out. I remember the accident was near the Apple Farm. Mary and Mam were fine but they were both brought to Clonmel hospital for check ups. It was as a result of those tests that Mam was diagnosed with breast cancer, were it not for the crash the cancer would not have been detected as early as it was,” said Garret.
Her husband Liam said he remembers Theresa being enthusiastic about Garrett Fitzgerald’s campaign to attract more women into politics and she decided to go to a Fine Gael branch meeting in Grange.
“I can still see the amazement on their faces when I walked in” Theresa was quoted for a book on women in politics before she passed away. She was the only woman in the room and it took two more years before she had the company of another woman at her local FG branch.

100 Years of Women In Politics exhibition shines a light on two outstanding women

A native of Clonmel Mary Heffernan, was responsible for the exhibition to be brought to the Main Guard in Clonmel.
Mary from Knocklucas House, Mountain Road, is a past pupil of Loreto Secondary School and has worked for most of her career in the OPW.
Mary’s passion for heritage was sparked from her upbringing in Clonmel, its cultural heritage, it’s history and stunning natural landscape – its Georgian Quays and handsome streets, Slievenamon, Tommy O’Brien, it’s Quaker history, Frank Patterson, Charles Bianconi, it’s magnificent country houses Newtown Anner, Marlfield House and Knocklofty.
ON TOUR
It still inspires Mary today and When the opportunity arose to tour Women in Politics, Mary proposed the Main Guard to curator Sinead McCoole. After a site visit to check its suitability this suggestion proved possible. Mary (pictured right) was very keen that the young ladies of Clonmel and surrounding areas get the chance to experience the exhibition first hand and be inspired by all the incredible women of Ireland that forged careers in politics and have made a difference to Irish society and most especially for a light to be shone on two outstanding women – Carrie Acheson and Theresa Ahearn.
Dr Sinead McCoole said it was fitting that the exhibition is showcased in the jewel of a building that is the Main Guard.
“I work in the Commemorations Unit, Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sports and Media and this exhibition is part of the women’s strand of the Decade of Centenaries programme, which is now an online resource Mná100.ie.

This exhibition opens with the story of 100 years ago, and documents what came next for women in the history of our country.
WALK THROUGH THE DECADES
It shows in a visual way the story of women’s involvement in politics and public life over the century. It was created as a walk through the decades, for many visitor it is also in part, the story of their own lifetime. It is a great exhibition for an intergenerational visit as each person can go to their place of birth … and its shows in a real way documents the passage of time. This is a great educational tool for learning – context for students – it was written with the new course society and politics as a guide.
ELECTION STORIES

It has interviews, audio visual, film and a host of images to tell the story in an engaging way. The story is led by the biographies of the women – their election stories are in context of events of those decades. There are timeline of events as part of each decade, detailing the difficulties, restrictions and hardships as well as the successes.
A special feature of this exhibition is the interview wall, where children and grandchildren share their stories of their female relatives and their contribution. We placed this at the start because it is important to get a sense of these women from those who knew them best. None of those who contributed their personal stories are actors, they did these interviews to acknowledge their relatives and their public service,” said Sinead.
“In order to understand that history it is important to know the stories of the women profiled. The material contained in this exhibition mainly comes from the private collections of the women themselves and their families, in particular in the period 1929-1969, the material was not in the public domain, until, this exhibition. The imagery is drawn from Ireland and abroad and brought together for the first time,” said Sinead.