Cork Woman voted Greatest Irish Old Doll Ever

27th Jun 2005

Cork Woman voted Ireland's Greatest Old Doll
Finbarr Barry

Was it really that much of a surprise that a Cork woman should be selected by the Irish nation as the Greatest Irish Woman ever?

Last week's telephone poll on Marianne Finucane's radio show on RTE radio 1 whittled Ireland's top women down to just ten. Listeners had to text or call in who they thought was most worthy of this title.

Amazingly for RTE Radio the old predictables were not drummed out giving the Dublin station's poll some credibility. "Celebrities" such as Twink who shot to fame for her charade skills on eighties TV show Play the Game were thankfully omitted. The female version of Dublin "comedian" Brendan O'Carroll without the sense of humour has a bag pipe sounding whinge that's enough to put any Corkonian off their tripe. So listeners to the show were spared coma inducing anecdotes from Dublin's F-list celebrities as genuinely "good people" made the final ten.

Nano: wouldn't be out of place in a modern day Blackpool with that headpiece.

NANO NAGLE
Who would have guessed a Cork woman would win? Well Nano Nagle's victory was greeted with surprise all over the island except of course in her native Cork where we are already aware that we produce only the finest females. The only dilemma in our minds was not if a Cork woman would win but which Cork woman would win. North Cork's Nano Nagle triumphed.

Nano Nagle was born during the penal laws to a wealthy family in Killavullen near Mallow. Despite the harshness of British rule against Catholics her folks managed to get her into a hedge school - the equivalent of blazer schools like PBC or CBC in the 1700s where classes took place in secret.

She was educated further in France but returned to Cork with a mission to help the poor by setting up schools and educating smallies. Her first was in Cove Lane (now called Cove Street - behind the F·s building on Sullivan's Quay) and set up her own religious order: the Presentation Sisters. Bear in mind that these schools were illegal under British law and Nano risked execution if she was caught! By the time she died the order was answering calls from Bishops all over the world to come to their dioceses and build schools. Respect.

NORA HERLIHY
Another Cork sounding name on the list is Nora Herlihy. Nora was a founder of the Irish credit union movement in the 1950s. Herlihy was a teacher and had the misfortune to work in Dublin where she witnessed terrible poverty among her students.

The Dubs just couldn't figure out just why they couldn't lift the majority of the population out of the poverty trap. Being a Cork woman Nora was of course supremely intelligent and was able to suss the root of the problem of Dublin's poverty: money management. Having seen a similar system in the U.S. Nora knew she could help the poor by setting up the very first credit union in Ireland.

The movement grew from strength to strength slowly allowing families all over the island to get their heads above the water and get on top of their problems with grade.

Nora Herlihy, insisted that education be part of the credit unions philosophy but as soon as the Dubs took over her fantastically intelligent project the education part, was sadly let slip.

Pure Kanturk.

EDEL QUINN
Nano slightly over shadowed another great Cork woman from Greenane in Kanturk. Edel Quinn was selected in the top ten on a religious buzz just like Nano but did her noted work in Africa and as a result is not as well known.

The Vatican's 2000 AD website describe Edel as follows:

Edel gave little indication of being unusually pious. Her natural good looks and wide-ranging talents made her popular with her peers - she more than held her own at tennis, athletics, golf and swimming, played the piano and violin well, sang and acted creditably, and dressed in attractive good taste. More importantly, her attractive personality, transparent sincerity, unselfishness, genuine interest in others, generosity, good-humour and general vivacity drew people to her. She was also very intelligent, diligent in her studies and excelled in her exams. Her future, in a worldly sense, brimmed with possibilities.

Sounds like the average Corkonian really. Now known as Venerable Edel Quinn, the girl from Kanturk despite having contracted TB in Ireland went to East Africa as a missionary where she stayed until her death in 1944.



WE WANT MORE
Three out of ten on the list of top Irish Women isn't a bad representation especially when you consider the Dublin station's involvement. The

Phwawhh!..ish

standard from many other counties was poor. Comically Mayo's representative was Grace O'Malley a fierce female pirate from the 1500s. Before all you underground music heads start dishing out respect note that Grace was an actual pirate and not somebody who resides in an attic in Cork city with a bag of records and a transmitter.

Naturally many of the names on the list could have been replaced by other great Cork women. For a start here's two we think should have made the cut.

Cobh's athletic super star Sonia O'Sullivan was not included in the top ten shakedown possibly at the expense of Dublin swimmer Michelle Smith. Sonia who has a rake of medals from, well almost any lengthy race old dolls can partake in, for the record has never had allegations of drug taking against her or been suspended for same. Only a few weeks ago she was standing alongside Roy Keane receiving the Freedom of the City. How could she have been left out?!

Adi Roche, who has worked tirelessly with her Chernobyl Children's Project should also have been included and is without doubt the most high profile female charity worker in the Irish state. There's hardly a week goes by when Adi isn't in the paper smiling from the back of a truck at some weather beaten charity event around the country.

We could go on but you get the picture. Old dolls of Cork - we love you and adore you.