Lorraine Clifford-Lee (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am very proud to second this motion. Before I start, I acknowledge the work my colleague Senator Fitzpatrick has put into this but also Senator Ardagh, who cannot be here tonight, unfortunately, to second this motion. I am standing in her place. She has done an awful lot of work. She is a passionate supporter of Dr. Kathleen Lynn and like her is a former student of Alexandra College. I know the college is very proud of Dr. Lynn's legacy and is in full support of our motion tonight. That is really important to note.

My colleague Senator Fitzpatrick gave a really good outline of why Dr. Lynn is such an important person. She was correct in saying that her name does not roll off the tongue like Plunkett, Pearse or Markievicz, and it should because she played such an important role. She was the chief medical officer in the Rising, which was a really important role. She was imprisoned like everybody else. Her role was vital. She trained Cumann na mBan and the ICA in medical techniques prior to the Rising. That training she gave was really fundamental to the success after the Rising and beyond. We would not have gotten through it without the expertise of Dr. Kathleen Lynn, who rejected a life of privilege to dedicate her life to the poor people of Dublin. We cannot underestimate the impact of that.

She founded St. Ultan's Children's Hospital, which was the only female-led and female-managed hospital in the country. She was a pioneer and champion for the Irish language. She ran many events within St. Ultan's Children's Hospital through Irish and she was an advocate for the use of the Irish language within the Church of Ireland, which was really groundbreaking at the time. She really did a huge amount in that space too. She was elected as a Teachta Dála at a time when there were not many female Teachtaí Dála; there still are not. We need to acknowledge not only her medical achievements and what she did during the Lock-out and the Rising and beyond, but also what she did by getting elected. She was one of those very brave women who stood up and stood for Parliament and tried to crack that glass ceiling. We are continuing that work.

It would be very fitting to call the new children's hospital after Dr. Kathleen Lynn. We do not have many things called after women in this country. When we think of any of our big institutions, it is men who dominate that sphere. We led a very successful campaign within Parliament to have more women hanging on our walls. Under the stewardship of Senator Mark Daly, we have far more portraits of women. To have a visibility of women in public life and office in our institutions and buildings sends a really powerful message. Quite frankly, if we do not name this hospital after Dr. Kathleen Lynn, we will send a very negative message to the women of Ireland. She is such a huge figure and influence on the outcome of this country in political terms but also in public health terms. The vaccine programme she and others introduced was a major benefit for the people of Dublin. The education they led for women who were not catered for, quite frankly, within the health system was really revolutionary. The care she gave to the young babies and children of Dublin is really important. I really would like some cross-party support. I would like the Minister of State to indicate that the Government will accept this. As my colleague Senator Fitzpatrick outlined, it has the backing of unions and various organisations. It has the backing of our party and I am hopeful it will have the backing of every other party here. I hope the Government will continue with the goodwill and show the women of Ireland that it is not all talk.We will put a very important figure on our new national children's hospital. That is the high regard in which we hold Dr. Kathleen Lynn but also the women who laid the foundations yet were ignored in the history books for so long and played a vital role in our independence, public health system and in the modernisation of our country.

I look forward to the rest of the debate and I hope all Senators will support our motion.