# Phyllis Ryan

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{{short description|Irish chemist and nationalist}}
{{About-distinguish|the chemist and wife of the President of Ireland|Phyllis Ryan (actress)}}
{{Use Hiberno-English|date=April 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2018}}
{{Infobox person
| name          = Phyllis Ryan
| image         = Philomena_Ryan.jpg
| image_size    = 160px
| caption       = Ryan in 1964
| birth_name    = Philomena Frances Ryan
| birth_date    = {{birth date|1895|2|28|df=y}}
| birth_place   = [Taghmon](/source/Taghmon), [County Wexford](/source/County_Wexford), Ireland
| death_date    = {{death date and age |1983|11|19 |1895|2|28 |df=y}}
| death_place   = [Dublin](/source/Dublin), Ireland
| resting_place = [Glasnevin Cemetery](/source/Glasnevin_Cemetery), Dublin, Ireland
| spouse        = {{marriage|[Seán T. O'Kelly](/source/Se%C3%A1n_T._O'Kelly)|1936|1966|reason=d}}
| relatives     = {{Ubl|[James Ryan](/source/James_Ryan_(Irish_politician)) (brother)|[Josephine Ryan](/source/Josephine_Ryan) (sister)|[Mary Kate Ryan](/source/Mary_Kate_Ryan) (sister)|[Agnes McCullough](/source/Agnes_McCullough) (sister)|[Nell Ryan](/source/Nell_Ryan) (sister)}}
| alma_mater    = {{Ubl|[University College Dublin](/source/University_College_Dublin)|[National University of Ireland](/source/National_University_of_Ireland)}}
}}
'''Philomena Frances Ryan''' (28 February 1895 – 19 November 1983) was an Irish chemist and nationalist and the second wife of [President of Ireland](/source/President_of_Ireland), [Seán T. O'Kelly](/source/Se%C3%A1n_T._O'Kelly).

==Early life and family==
Philomena Frances Ryan was born on 28 February 1895 to John Ryan and Elizabeth (née Sutton), farmers in Tomcoole, near [Taghmon](/source/Taghmon), [County Wexford](/source/County_Wexford). Ryan was the youngest of six sisters and five brothers. They were a nationalist family who "played an important role in revolutionary politics and helped shape the new Free State."<ref name=":0">Hayes, Jim (2016). Wexford Family at the Heart of 1916 Rising, Gorey Guardian  22 March 2016. [3]</ref> Their home was used as a headquarters in the [War of Independence](/source/War_of_Independence_(Ireland)).<ref>McAuliffe, Mary and Gillis, Liz (2016). Richmond Barracks 1916. We Were There: 77 Women of the Easter Rising. Dublin City Council. pp242-243.</ref> Her brother, [James Ryan](/source/James_Ryan_(Irish_politician)) was an [Irish Volunteer](/source/Irish_Volunteers) who became a senior [Fianna Fáil](/source/Fianna_F%C3%A1il) Minister.<ref name=":1">Gillis, Liz (2016). Women of the Irish Revolution. Mercier Press. p.51.</ref> Ryan and her sisters were involved in [Cumann na mBan](/source/Cumann_na_mBan), two of whom were arrested and imprisoned after the [Easter Rising](/source/Easter_Rising).<ref name=":1" /> Three of her sisters went on to marry [Seán T. O'Kelly](/source/Se%C3%A1n_T._O'Kelly), [Richard Mulcahy](/source/Richard_Mulcahy), and [Denis McCullough](/source/Denis_McCullough) respectively.<ref name=":0" />

Ryan was educated in the small nearby national school at Caroreigh and in the Loreto Abbey in [Gorey](/source/Gorey). For third level she went to [University College Dublin](/source/University_College_Dublin), where she graduated with a B.Sc. in [chemistry](/source/chemistry) in 1916, followed by her master's degree the following year. She was the only woman in her year and only the fifth female scientist to have graduated from the [National University of Ireland](/source/National_University_of_Ireland).

== Nationalism ==
During her time in college, the [Easter rising](/source/Easter_rising) took place. Ryan reported for duty at the [General Post Office, Dublin](/source/General_Post_Office%2C_Dublin) with her sisters, where they acted as messengers.<ref>{{cite web|title=Witness Dr. Nancy Vyse-Power|url=http://www.bureauofmilitaryhistory.ie/reels/bmh/BMH.WS0541.pdf#page=29|publisher=Bureau of Military history|access-date=12 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170103142233/http://www.bureauofmilitaryhistory.ie/reels/bmh/BMH.WS0541.pdf#page=29|archive-date=3 January 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Ryan sisters also attempted to get the British army to stop firing on [Red Cross](/source/International_Red_Cross_and_Red_Crescent_Movement) locations.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Bureau of Military history|title=Witness Right Rev. Monsignor M. Curran, P.P|url=http://www.bureauofmilitaryhistory.ie/reels/bmh/BMH.WS0687.pdf#page=71|access-date=12 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171123143433/http://www.bureauofmilitaryhistory.ie/reels/bmh/BMH.WS0687.pdf#page=71|archive-date=23 November 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> In the lead up to the events she and her sisters had acted as cover for the men meeting up, accompanying them to make it look like they were out with their girlfriends.<ref>{{cite web |title=Witness His Excellency, Seán T. O'Kelly |url=http://www.bureauofmilitaryhistory.ie/reels/bmh/BMH.WS1765%20PART%202.pdf#page=94 |publisher=Bureau of Military history |access-date=12 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171117230638/http://www.bureauofmilitaryhistory.ie/reels/bmh/BMH.WS1765%20PART%202.pdf#page=94 |archive-date=17 November 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Between 1919 and 1921, during the [War of Independence](/source/War_of_Independence_(Ireland)) she divided her time between her work as a chemist and her political and military activities. Ryan was a member of, and at one point a captain in, [Cumann na mBan](/source/Cumann_na_mBan). She managed to escape arrest and worked with the organisations supporting those who did get arrested.<ref>{{cite web |title=Witness Miss Brighid O'Mullane |url=http://www.bureauofmilitaryhistory.ie/reels/bmh/BMH.WS0485.pdf#page=2 |publisher=Bureau of Military history}}</ref><ref name="dib">{{cite web|url=http://dib.cambridge.org|title=The Dictionary of Irish Biography}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Explore: Letters of 1916 |url=http://letters1916.maynoothuniversity.ie/explore/letters/159 |website=letters1916.maynoothuniversity.ie |access-date=12 August 2018 |archive-date=6 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171206085513/http://letters1916.maynoothuniversity.ie/explore/letters/159 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Explore: Letters of 1916 |url=http://letters1916.maynoothuniversity.ie/explore/letters/165 |website=letters1916.maynoothuniversity.ie |access-date=12 August 2018 |archive-date=6 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171206085539/http://letters1916.maynoothuniversity.ie/explore/letters/165 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Explore: Letters of 1916 |url=http://letters1916.maynoothuniversity.ie/explore/letters/169 |website=letters1916.maynoothuniversity.ie |access-date=12 August 2018 |archive-date=6 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171206085637/http://letters1916.maynoothuniversity.ie/explore/letters/169 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="NLI">{{cite web |title=Seán T. Ó Ceallaigh and The Ryans of Tomcoole |url=https://www.nli.ie/pdfs/mss%20lists/178_Se%C3%A1nT%C3%93CeallaighRyansOfTomcoole.pdf |publisher=National Library of Ireland}}</ref><ref name="irc">{{cite web |title=Marking the Decade of Centenaries: Ireland 1916-2016 |url=http://research.ie/assets/uploads/2017/06/irc_marking_the_decade_of_centenaries_booklet_0-1.pdf |publisher=The Irish Research Council}}</ref><ref name="nli2">{{cite web|url=http://www.nli.ie/pdfs/mss%20lists/160_Se%C3%A1nT%C3%93Ceallaigh_AdditionalList.pdf|publisher=National Library of Ireland|title=Seán T. Ó Ceallaigh (Additional Papers)|access-date=12 August 2018|archive-date=29 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160929053059/http://www.nli.ie/pdfs/mss%20lists/160_Se%C3%A1nT%C3%93Ceallaigh_AdditionalList.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|publisher=Bureau of Military history|title=Witness Michael O'Connell|url=http://www.bureauofmilitaryhistory.ie/reels/bmh/BMH.WS1428.pdf#page=17|access-date=12 August 2018|archive-date=4 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240304190257/http://www.bureauofmilitaryhistory.ie/reels/bmh/BMH.WS1428.pdf#page=17|url-status=dead}}</ref>

When the [Irish Civil War](/source/Irish_Civil_War) began, Ryan agreed with the [anti-Treaty](/source/anti-Treaty) side. She wrote to her sister [Min](/source/Josephine_Ryan) severing ties with herself and her husband [Richard Mulcahy](/source/Richard_Mulcahy), a general in the [Free State](/source/Irish_Free_State) army, for the duration.<ref name="NLI" /><ref name="nli2" /><ref name="irc" />

==Career==

Ryan worked with Professor Hugh Ryan and published papers. Some of their research was funded by [Nobels Ltd](/source/Dynamit_Nobel). Ryan went to [London](/source/London) to train as a public analyst. When she came back to Dublin she worked in the college laboratory. In 1925, she set up a laboratory in Dawson Street, Dublin where she worked as a public analyst. She chose to employ female graduates.<ref name=":2">Gillis, Liz (2016). Women of the Irish Revolution. Mercier Press. p.157.</ref> Eventually Ryan was the public analyst for 12 county councils. For many years she was the only female public analyst in Ireland.<ref name="dib"/><ref name="NLI"/><ref name="nli2"/><ref name="irc"/>

Ryan was a founder member of the [Irish Chemical Association](/source/Institute_of_Chemistry_of_Ireland) (1922–36). She was on the committee of the Irish Chemical Association (1936–7), then vice-president (1938–40) and president (1940–41). In 1934, Ryan became a member of the first industrial research council.<ref name="dib" /><ref name="NLI" /><ref name="nli2" /><ref name="irc" />

==Later life==

In September 1936, Ryan married [Seán T. O'Kelly](/source/Se%C3%A1n_T._O'Kelly). He was the widower of her sister [Mary Kate](/source/Mary_Kate_Ryan) (Kit) who had died in 1934 at the age of 55.<ref name=":2" /> The couple received a [papal dispensation](/source/papal_dispensation) in order to marry. They had no children. Her husband became [President of Ireland](/source/President_of_Ireland) in 1945, at which point Ryan gave up her career. Her hobbies included flower arranging and bridge.<ref name="dib" /><ref name="NLI" /><ref name="nli2" /><ref name="irc" /> In June 1946, Ryan organised a reunion event at [Áras an Uachtaráin](/source/%C3%81ras_an_Uachtar%C3%A1in) for members of Cumann na mBan,<ref>Gillis, Liz (2016). Women of the Irish Revolution. Mercier Press. p.218.</ref>

Her husband served two terms as [President of Ireland](/source/President_of_Ireland) before retiring in 1959, at which point the couple moved to [Roundwood](/source/Roundwood), [County Wicklow](/source/County_Wicklow). O'Kelly died in 1966. Ryan died on 19 November 1983 aged 88 in [Our Lady's Hospice](/source/Our_Lady's_Hospice) at [Harold's Cross](/source/Harold's_Cross), Dublin. They are both buried in [Glasnevin Cemetery](/source/Glasnevin_Cemetery).<ref name="dib" /><ref name="NLI" /><ref name="nli2" /><ref name="irc" />

==References and sources==
{{Reflist}}

{{Spouses of the president of Ireland}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Philomena}}
Category:1895 births
Category:1983 deaths
Category:Alumni of the National University of Ireland
Category:Cumann na mBan members
Category:Irish women chemists
Category:People from Taghmon
Category:People of the Easter Rising
Category:People of the Irish War of Independence
Category:Spouses of presidents of Ireland
Category:Scientists from County Wexford
Category:20th-century Irish chemists
Category:Women in the Easter Rising
Category:Women in the Irish War of Independence

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Phyllis Ryan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phyllis_Ryan) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phyllis_Ryan?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.