Sir, - I am sad to learn of Mary Cummins's death, but salute her brave life. To trace her career is to create a true picture of contemporary Irishwomen's campaigns for justice and rights. She was an involved feminist in the 1970s through her practical actions, but she was also central to the campaign battles in which many of us participated, through her reflective and relevant journalism in The Irish Times.
Although a committed feminist, Mary would not always go with the orthodoxy of the day, and gave challenging defences of her viewpoints on prevailing controversies. But when it was necessary she could go for the political jugular.
Mary loved to write and to talk; she was good company and valued her friends. Throughout her illness she maintained her sense of humour, and refused to take it seriously. Life gives many more choices now to women than was the case in the grim days of the 1960s and 1970s; in this Mary Cummins played a role. Her daughter Daisy will miss her greatly, and so will we all. - Yours, etc.,
Nuala Fennell, Ardeevin Road, Dalkey, Co Dublin.