May McClintock – a lifelong commitment to social and environmental issues

Elizabeth Mary (May) McClintock, of Glendooen House, Newmills, Letterkenny, Co Donegal, was 84 when she passed away peacefully on March 11th, 2016, in the care of the Donegal Hospice, Letterkenny.

May was born in Convoy, Co Donegal, on November 29th, 1931, to William and Mary Jane Bonner, the eldest of eight children, William (RIP), Alec (RIP), Tom, Louise (RIP), Frances, Ruby and Shannon.

As a small child, May spent much of her time with her maternal grandfather, Joe White, a milkman and farmer from Convoy, and as they travelled around in his lorry collecting milk churns, she would always want to know who everyone was and who lived where. This curiosity about people and places was to remain with her throughout her life.

Her primary school was in Convoy, after which she received her secondary education in the Prior School in Lifford. May’s academic achievements were rewarded with a scholarship to the Church of Ireland Training College, Kildare Place, Dublin, and after qualifying she took up a teaching post in Portlean, Kilmacrennan, Co Donegal, until she married in 1954.

In later years, May returned to teaching and was in Ray National School Manorcunningham for 10 years until she finally retired in 1997, although she kept her hand in for a few years afterwards by assisting with the An Taisce Green Schools awards in conjunction with Donegal County Council.

May married John McClintock and they moved to Glendooen House, where she lived for the next 60 years, helping her husband run a busy one-man veterinary practice. John predeceased her in April 1997.

It was in the early years of May McClintock’s marriage that her commitment to social and environmental awareness began. These activities brought her into contact with a wide range of the farming community and subsequently membership of the Letterkenny branch of the IFA, of which she quickly she took up the position of secretary, a role that was recognised by the farmers with a lifetime appreciation award.

In the early 1970s May was already involved in An Taisce and, along with her lifelong friend Thomasina Kelly, was invited to the inaugural meetings of Letterkenny Tidy Towns. Shortly afterwards, she became secretary of this body, which was an organisation that she cherished and remained in as an active member for over 40 years. May lived to see the rewards of this Tidy Towns activity in 2015, when Letterkenny was awarded the prestigious title of Ireland’s Tidiest Town.

In 2013 May’s contribution to An Taisce was recognised by a lifetime achievement award that celebrated her service of membership of 42 years. Her environmental legacy to society is clearly evident throughout the many green initiatives that she championed, including planting trees, which will benefit many generations to come, and even opening of a chain of “bee hotels”.

May was always a step ahead of environmental issues and in the mid 1970s was to the forefront of an anti-uranium campaign against a mining project in west Donegal that was to culminate in Letterkenny being declared a nuclear-free zone. In later years she looked to hold developers to task as the sprawl of urban housing became unsustainable.

As May’s children got older she became more active in local issues, which resulted in a political career that involved standing for Fine Gael in various elections. It was this interest in local politics that resulted in May being the first woman to chair the Letterkenny Urban District Council.

May McClintock remained a scholar all her life and was an author of a number of books, including an account of the Glenveagh evictions, a record of the culture of the Lagan Valley and a series of items on local history. Her lifelong friends in the Donegal Historical Society recognised her contributions to the offices that she held on its behalf over the years. –