US Ambassador to unveil statue of Kate Kennedy at Duleek Girls National School
A very special Women’s Day event is taking place on March 8th to celebrate the remarkable achievements of Duleek’s most famous but almost forgotten emigrant, Kate Kennedy.
The event, which starts at 11.30am, will include the unveiling of a sculpture of Kate Kennedy created by sculptor Betty Newman-Maguire at Duleek Girls National School with special guest Claire D. Cronin, the US Ambassador to Ireland, doing the honours.
Kate Kennedy was born in in the townland of Gaskinstown, west of Duleek in 1827, she attended the local national school followed by a brief spell at Loreto College in Navan before emigrating to San Francisco.
Having secured a position as a Principal teacher at North Cosmopolitan Grammar School in San Francisco in 1867, she learned some years later that male principals were paid more than females and after intense personal lobbying, she eventually persuaded the California State legislature to change the law.
The rebellious Duleek woman was demoted for political activism and undertook legal action in 1887. Her successful court action against the local Board of Education three years later saw a landmark decision rule that teachers could not be demoted unless for misconduct or incompetence ensuring security of employment for male and female teachers.
Kate Kennedy died in 1890 and to this day, a school in her honour still functions at 1670 Noe Street, San Francisco. The pioneering visionary became the first person in the world to achieve equal pay for equal work following persistent agitation in California in the late 1800s.
Fianna Fáil Councillor Stephen McKee, who lives near Gaskinstown where Kate Kennedy is originally from, and is a member of the organising committee, said the proposed commemoration is long overdue.
“It is extraordinary that so many decades have come and gone since her passing in 1890 and yet so little is known about her in Ireland” McKee said.
“We will welcome various members of the Kennedy family from the US to Duleek to mark the occasion and ensure that Kate Kennedy gets the recognition she fully deserves.”
According to Duleek journalist Ken Murray who is leading the project, Kate Kennedy is famous outside of Ireland and her name appears in numerous books celebrating international feminist achievements yet relatively little is known about her here.
“She has been a great inspiration to so many female activists who continue to push for real equality,” he said.
The story of Kate Kennedy is a modern-day reminder of the many Irish emigrants who left this Country in search of a better life but through circumstances, vision and sheer determination, made an outstanding mark elsewhere for future generations.
“She achieved another unique claim to fame when she became the first female to run for public office in the State of California. We are looking forward to honouring Kate Kennedy and welcoming the US Ambassador Claire D Cronin to Duleek on what will be a very historic occasion” concluded Murray.
Members of the the Kate Kennedy Commemoration Committee, include Ken Murray, Cllr Stephen McKee, Paddy McKenna and family relative Pat Kennedy from Navan.
