Mary Daly (Australian writer)
Dame Mary Dora Daly, DBE CBE OBE (née MacMahon; 24 August 1896 – 11 June 1983) was an Australian writer, humanitarian and charity worker.
Biography
Mary Dora MacMahon was born in Cootamundra, New South Wales, 24 August 1896. Her parents were Thomas Patrick MacMahon, a solicitor, and his wife Mary Ellen (née O'Donnell). She was educated at Loreto convent schools in Normanhurst, New South Wales and Ballarat, Victoria.[1]
On 3 January 1923, at St Canice's Church, Darlinghurst, she married John Joseph Daly (died 1953), a physician and a nephew of the founder of St Vincent's Hospital, Mother Berchmans Daly. The Dalys had two children, John and Marie.[2]
With the outbreak of World War II, Daly was the only woman on the executive of the Catholic Welfare Organisation, founded in Melbourne in 1939 by Archbishop Mannix. She became the CWO's president two years later, in 1941.[2]
She was also affiliated with:
- Member, National Council, Australian Red Cross Society (ARCS)
- Executive Member, Council of the Victorian Division, ARCS
- Fund-raiser, Caritas Christi Hospice
- First woman president (1966–75), Australian Catholic Relief
- Foundation member (president 1975–77), Ryder-Cheshire Foundation (Australia).[3]
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Writings
- Cinty and the laughing jackasses and other children's stories (1961)
- Timmy's Christmas surprise (1967)
- Holidays at Hillydale: a story for children about a family's holiday spent on an Australian sheep station (1973)
- Catholic Welfare Organisation: its work for the men and women of the Services during World War II, September 1939 - June 1948
Death
Dame Mary Daly died at Fitzroy, Victoria, aged 86, on 11 June 1983.[1] She was buried at Melbourne General Cemetery.
Honours and awards
- King George V Silver Jubilee Medal - 1935.[4]
- Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) - 1937[5]
- Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) - 1949[6]
- Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) - 1951[7][8]
- The Roman Catholic Church awarded Mary Daly the Cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice in 1951,[9] in honour of her work as president of the Catholic Welfare Organization of Victoria.[10]
- Long service medal from the Australian Red Cross Society in 1940 and honorary life membership in 1971.
References
- Langmore, Diane (10 March 1966). Australian Dictionary of Biography, 1981-1990. The Miegunyah Press. ISBN 9780522853827 – via Google Books.
- Melbourne, National Foundation for Australian Women and The University of. "Daly, Mary Dora - Woman - The Australian Women's Register". www.womenaustralia.info.
- Warne, Ellen. "Daly, Dame Mary Dora (May) (1896–1983)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University – via Australian Dictionary of Biography.
- Melbourne, The University of. "Daly, Dame Mary Dora - Woman - The Encyclopedia of Women and Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia". www.womenaustralia.info. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
- "Mrs Mary Daly". Australian Honours Search Facility. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
- "Mrs Mary Dora Daly". Australian Honours Search Facility. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
- "Mrs Mary Dora Daly, CBE". Australian Honours Search Facility. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
- "Dame Mary Daly". Advocate. 14 June 1951. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
- Warne, Ellen, "Daly, Dame Mary Dora (May) (1896–1983)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 31 August 2022
- "Pope Honours Dame Mary Daly". Advocate. 3 July 1952. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
Sources
- Lofthouse, Andrea (ed.), Who's Who of Australian Women, Methuen Australia, North Ryde (NSW), 1982