Eileen Proctor
Memorial plaque to Proctor, St Stephen's Green
Born
Eileen Field

(1916-08-11)11 August 1916
London, United Kingdom
Died3 December 2007(2007-12-03) (aged 91)
Dublin, Republic of Ireland
Burial placeMount Venus Cemetery, Rathfarnham[1]
NationalityIrish
Occupation(s)seamstress, psychiatric nurse, telephonist
SpouseProctor
Children4

Eileen Proctor (née Field; 11 August 1916 – 3 December 2007) was an Irish woman, the founder and president of the National Association of Widows in Ireland (NAWI).[2][3]

Early life

Eileen Field was born in London in 1916. She worked as a seamstress and psychiatric nurse, and as a telephonist during the London Blitz.

National Association of Widows in Ireland

Proctor was widowed in December 1962 when her husband was knocked down by a bus while cycling home from work. In 1966 she wrote a letter to The Irish Press seeking support from other widows. The National Association of Widows in Ireland was founded in Dublin in January 1967.[4] Proctor served as its president until her death in 2007.[5][6]

Lobbying by the NAWI introduced more benefits for widows, including an electricity allowance; free TV licence, free phone rental, a "Living Alone" allowance, double pension at Christmas, a supplementary benefit for pensioners and those on small, fixed incomes; and widows of Easter Rising veterans.[7][8][9] Proctor won a People of the Year Award in 1977.[10]

References

  1. ↑ "Death Notice of Eileen PROCTOR (née Field)". rip.ie.
  2. ↑ Bourke, Angela (21 October 2002). The Field Day Anthology of Irish Writing. NYU Press. ISBN 9780814799079 – via Google Books.
  3. ↑ Cummins, Mary. "Ostracise men of violence to prevent creation of more widows, women told". The Irish Times.
  4. ↑ "NAWI - National Association of Widows in Ireland". www.nawi.ie.
  5. ↑ "Government to restore benefits for widows". The Irish Times.
  6. ↑ "Widows to hold annual seminar in Wexford". WexfordPeople.ie.
  7. ↑ "Eileen Proctor". Independent.ie.
  8. ↑ "Widows seeks reversal of disability cuts". The Irish Times.
  9. ↑ Connolly, Linda (12 November 2001). The Irish Women's Movement: From Revolution to Devolution. Springer. ISBN 9780230509122 – via Google Books.
  10. ↑ The Irish Times (Tuesday, June 21, 1983), page 6.
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