#OTD in 1968 – Death of Irish language educator, Margaret Mary Pearse, in Blackrock, Co Dublin.

Margaret Mary Pearse was a Fianna Fáil politician and teacher. She helped to found St Enda’s School with her brothers Patrick and Willie. Following the executions of her brothers in the aftermath of the Easter Rising, Margaret continued to run St Enda’s until 1933.

She was first elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin County constituency at the 1933 general election. She was defeated at the 1937 general election but due to her unswerving support for Éamon de Valera and the Fianna Fáil party, she was elected to the Administrative Panel of the 2nd Seanad. She served in the Seanad until her death in 1968. She was a founding member of the teaching staff of Ardscoil Éanna in Crumlin, Dublin, upon its establishment in 1939. Her mother Margaret Pearse also served as a TD in the 1920s.

Margaret died in Dublin and was accorded a state funeral. As per her mother’s wishes, she bequeathed St Enda’s to the people of Ireland as a memorial to her brothers’ sacrifice. The school is now home to Pearse Museum.

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