Margaret O'Leary, who died on March 24th aged 63, was one of the most influential figures in the development of vocational training for people with disabilities in Ireland and Europe.
As an energetic and visionary member of the Rehab Group, she introduced a modular system of vocational training, which was taken up throughout Europe. It particularly appealed to organisations preparing people with disabilities to enter the labour market.
When she joined the then Rehabilitation Institute in December 1974, she found a training and education system best described as "see what I do and do what I do". She decided to change this and tackled the job with her renowned energy. She even attended night classes in woodwork because of the absence of any material within Rehab for training in carpentry.
Her basic aim was to modernise the group's approach to training by developing a detailed curriculum for each individual discipline. In all, some 25,000 people from every part of Ireland benefited from that approach, helping many to gain jobs and build careers.
Margaret O'Leary's work, however, went far beyond the sphere of training. She also introduced a professional industrial relations approach within the organisation and had responsibility for the human resources function until her retirement in December 1999.
When Rehab organised its training and education functions into the National Training and Development Institute, she became its first chief executive and created an organisation acknowledged as one of the best in the world in its field.
In the 1990s, she also worked on the Commission for the Status of People with Disabilities. The commission's report remains the blueprint for the development of rights and services for people with disabilities, and through her work on the commission she will continue to have an influence for a long time to come.
Rehab also has a strong presence outside Ireland. Margaret O'Leary established Rehab services in Scotland which today provide rehabilitation and training for more than 700 people annually.
She also made a valuable contribution to Rehabilitation International and the European Platform for Vocational Rehabilitation. In fact, she was just assuming the role of world president of the Rehabilitation International Vocational Commission when she became ill.
A woman widely regarded as among the ablest and most formidable representatives of the Irish voluntary sector, Margaret O'Leary had no fear of provoking controversy at times - but always for the purpose of advancing the work of vocational rehabilitation for people with disabilities.
Margaret O'Leary was born on November 8th, 1937, in Dungarvan, Co Waterford, to a west Cork couple, Garda Jeremiah and Elizabeth (nee Chambers) O'Leary. She was the fourth child in a family of two boys and three girls. She was educated at Presentation Convent, Castlecomer, Co Kilkenny, after her father was transferred to that town. The family eventually moved to Dublin where she did her B.Comm and H.Dip in Education at University College Dublin. She later obtained a Masters in Education.
She worked as a teacher before joining Rehab. That work brought her to Roslyn Park School, which was later to become the headquarters of Rehab. In the years before she went to work for Rehab she was deeply involved in the Catholic organisation Opus Dei, whose work and ideals she admired for her whole life.
Margaret O'Leary was a dynamic person, full of physical and mental energy. She brought the same commitment and enthusiasm to everything she did, from preparing a meal to finalising a major work project. She was dedicated to her immediate and extended family and friends and was passionately committed to young people.
She is survived by her brother Bill and sisters, Zena, Eilish and Pauline.