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International Women's Day: Celebrating Eight Personal Heroines
- thelegallybrunette
- Mar 8, 2023
- 9 min read
On this year's International Women's Day, as the world recognises the contributions that women in history, in current affairs and in family life, have made for hundreds of years, I would like to take this opportunity to highlight some of my personal heroines who have nurtured, inspired and motivated me during my entire life.
Even as a child, there were women who I looked up to and credited with giving me the foundation for the woman I am today, and the woman I strive to become each day.
Without further ado, here are the eight inspirational touchstones I am celebrating this Women's Day:-
1. Helen Beatrix Potter
The famous children's author, illustrator, natural scientist and conservationist whose charming drawings continue to be recognisable today, as well as the wonderful tales of woodland creatures including Peter Rabbit, Squirrel Nutkin, Jemina Puddle-Duck and many more, which have been adapted into television programmes, a ballet performance and computer animated modern films.
Beatrix is also connected to nature conservation, particularly in the Lake District in North West England, where according to the UK National Trust, "she supported the efforts of the National Trust to preserve not just the places of extraordinary beauty, but also those heads of valleys and low grazing lands that would be irreparably damaged by development." After she passed away in 1943, she left the bulk of her property to the National Trust, including over 4,000 acres of land, sixteen farms, cottages and herds of cattle and Herdwick sheep, the largest gift at the time and enabled the preservation of the land now included in the Lake District National Park. You can learn more about the legacy of Beatrix Potter and the Lake District at the National Trust website here.
The very first book that I learned to read while listening to a cassette tape as a young child was 'The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy Winkle' narrated by Patricia Routledge (another famous figure in acting who I am very fond of), and through the narration, illustrations and story, my love of literature took root and has blossomed ever since.
It is thanks to Beatrix that I have such a fondness for nature and animals, knowing that the natural world is so beautiful and worthy of being protected.
2. My grandmother, Margaret
One of my earliest childhood memories was being in a pram with my grandmother pushing me along beside the Lough in Cork, a beautiful scenic spot that is the nexus of a local legend of a castle deep underneath the surface of the water.
Visits to my grandmother's house were always full of laughter and feeding of the ducks, watching the swans glide by, sitting in the garden while my grandfather tended the rhubarb and flowers, and hearing stories about my family from years before.
My grandmother was a lady of style, with a wonderful coiffed hairstyle, and beautiful cardigans with her blue rinse being her signature look when I was a child. Since my parents were back at work while I was starting in primary school, she was always on hand to look after myself and my brother, to bring us to the supermarket of a Friday and cook us a delicious dinner after doing our homework.
Mom taught me the importance of family, that support and encouragement are gifts to be given freely, and knowing that she was so proud of her grandchildren was something I am forever grateful for.
3. Maura Currivan
From the age of six, I attended Speech and Drama training in the LAMDA Verse and Prose, where my teacher for many years was Maura Currivan, a lady with the most wonderful diction and manner of speaking I had ever heard.
As a teacher, she was firm, but encouraging, always wanting her students to be the very best they could be, giving seasoned instructions on how to best express a line of dialogue or a paragraph of prose. It was thanks to Maura's excellent teaching that allowed me to audition for school plays and continue a very worthwhile public speaking journey to this day.
After attending the Montforts College of Performing Arts in Cork, Maura went on to open her own drama school, where she prepared students for examinations and performances, ranging from poetry to dramatic acting. More recently, I was genuinely over the moon to see her on television amongst a group of 50 actresses who portrayed the titular character of 'Sive', ahead of the 2018 production performed at the Gaiety Theatre, which I had the chance to watch a few years ago.
It is thanks to Maura that I have such a deep passion for the arts, for performance and that she nurtured my confidence through the mode of Shakespeare to push me past my performance comfort zone. Under her teaching, I attained the Gold Medal in Verse and Prose, which is one of the great achievements of my life. Being able to walk on a stage and not shake at the knees is what I am eternally grateful for with Maura's coaching and counsel for all those years.
4. Adi Roche
During my formative years, the Presidential Election was taking place in 1997, where posters of candidates were tacked to lamp-posts and signposts in my local town of Cork, and among the female candidates, including Mary McAleese, Mary Banotti and Dana Rosemary Scallon, it was Ms. Roche who caught my eye, and being but a primary school child, I was not au fait with political policies at the time (and quite frankly, I still consider myself an amateur!), something about her made me want to support her and wish her luck in the election.
While she did not secure the winning vote to become President, I still watched her career with interest for the next few years, witnessing her activism in the area of anti-nuclear policy and her work as founder of Chernobyl Children International, a non-profit international development, medical and humanitarian organisation whose aim is to work with the children and families affected by the outcome of the Chernobyl nuclear plant accident.
The organisation provides thousands of volunteers to work with the Belarusian government to deliver support to children and the wider community, as well as advocating for the rights of those affected by the Chernobyl disaster.
Adi Roche's work as a humanitarian on behalf of vulnerable children in Belarus was always an inspiring commitment to me. I credit her tireless worth ethic to my wanting to volunteer for causes close to my heart, such as the Irish Guide Dogs, Women's Aid, Cancer Research Ireland, the Dogs' Trust and Pieta House.
5. Mary Dorgan.
The ambition to become a solicitor began quite early in my teenage years, when I read a prospectus during a guidance counselling session about the work that a legal professional would do, with the amount of reading and salary being worthy reasons as well. Being the pioneer in my family, I was left without connections and contacts to assist me in finding a training contract, so it was up to me to start from the bottom rung and work my way up slowly.
That first step took me to the office of Mary Dorgan, the principal of her own firm and lead of a team of dedicated female staff, who were friends for many years and held a great deal of respect for each other. I felt very welcomed as a legal work experience intern, learning the ropes of office management, dealing with queries on files and following Mary's lead on conveyancing and family law matters, building a solid interest in the practice area that served me well during my traineeship.
As a mentor, Mary was encouraging and inspired me to work hard, providing a stellar example of a female solicitor and an effective leader in her own firm, providing an empowering model of leadership that I hope to embody in my own way as I continue to gain experience in my career.
On 23 May 2017, Mary Dorgan was appointed as a judge to the Cork District Court, and it was incredible news to read that one of my mentors was now adjudicating cases in the Anglesea courthouse, a place that I have often visited on her office's behalf to file documents.
It is a great honour to count Mary among the sitting judges, knowing the great lessons she taught me about presenting myself in interviews and how to approach clients with a respectable, firm attitude.
6. Mary Black
One of my earliest memories during holiday trips with my family is listening to music on the radio, on cassette and later CD's. While my parents were eclectic music fans, introducing me to many genres of music, , I always remember being happy and charmed by the voice of Mary Black, one of Ireland's most famous folk singers and recording artists, particularly singing the songs 'Past the Point of Rescue', 'Katie' and 'Annachie Gordon'.
Formerly of the traditional Irish Music 'De Dannan', Mary's prolific career spans many decades, with thirteen solo albums and eight compilation albums under her belt. The music critic and lyricist Micheal Leahy once said in interview, "Over the years, Mary Black has come to define what many people see as the essence of Irish woman singers: profound, slightly ethereal and beyond the reaches of trends."
It is the timeless quality of Mary's singing that makes her such an important vocalist, and one of my main musical inspiration heroines in appreciating the traditional Irish music that is so deeply ingrained in the culture.
For my Leaving Certificate Music practical, I chose to sing 'Katie', a song that speaks of nostalgia, heart warmth and familiar comfort. Being able to channel the spirit of Mary's voice and do the song justice was always important to me, knowing how sentimental it was ever since childhood and what it would mean for my family to dedicate it to them.
7. Dr. Shannon Curry
A very recent inspiration of mine is Dr. Shannon Curry, a clinical and forensic psychologist who served as an expert witness in the Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard trial in Fairfax, Virginia last year, testifying as to the mental health diagnosis of the defendant and offering her expertise on the elements of psychology relevant to the turbulent relationship.
My interest in psychology has been present for as long as I can remember when drama programmes would bring in a psychologist to analyse a suspect's state of mind and offer a possible answer as to why they would commit a crime to unravel the motive and bring closure to an investigation.
Knowing the value of a psychological perspective and being a firm supporter of counselling therapy, I have great respect for Dr. Curry's private work as director of the Curry Psychological Group in Newport Beach, California, which employs a dedicated team of psychologists and staff to assist couples and individuals with their mental health problems.
Dr. Curry earned her Master's and Doctorate degree in Clinical Psychology at Pepperdine University, Los Angeles, California, and also holds a postdoctoral Master of Science Degree in Clinical Psychopharamacology from Alliant University, Alhambra, California.
Besides her stellar credentials, Dr. Curry's testimony in the famous televised trial was one of grace, compassion and confidence, where she underwent interesting cross-examination by the defendant's lawyer, remaining cool under the unneeded pressure. Her ability to speak to the jury on complex psychological conditions contained in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Editions, 5th Edition, being the most widely researched, made it much more accessible to a layperson who may have no exposure to such concepts.
As a female professional, I greatly look up to Dr. Curry's professionalism and dignity, which is something I hope to emulate as I continue in my legal career.
Last, but certainly by no means least, I want to acknowledge the woman who gave me the best start possible in life and without whom any of this would not be possible...
My mother, Finola.
She is not only the lovely lady who raised me but the one who taught me good manners, kindness to others and animals, caring and how to be amazingly stylish. Who's to say that fashion sense isn't genetic?
Her lessons have stood with me for my entire life, and thanks to her encouragement, I was able to stay committed to hobbies such as Speech and Drama, swimming, horse-riding and karate, giving each my very best, enjoying every lesson and adventure, and not giving up easily.
As one of the most dedicated volunteers at the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind National Headquarters in Cork, her love for the amazing dogs always shone through and led me on a path to become a volunteer and tour guide on Open Days, supporting the organisation on collection days and together with our family, raising two successful Guide Dogs who went on to give two visually impaired people their independence.
No matter the day, the lateness of the hour or the time of the year, I know that she is only a call away, and every time I return to Cork to the old house where I grew up, it is always with a heart filled with joy, knowing that safety and love are always waiting for me.
She has remained a close confidante, one of my greatest supporters as I navigated the academic world and my various leadership roles down through the years, and the most wonderful lady you could ever meet.
So I say 'Thank you, mum' and 'Thank you, ladies' for teaching me how to be brave, graceful and kind.
To all the ladies who I have met in my life, friends, colleagues and leaders, the many in history that are so numerous, I thank you for the inspiration.
Wishing you a very happy International Womens' Day!
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