Former Nationalist editor Margaret was a trialblazer
The late Margaret O'Rourke
FORMER news editor at , Margaret O’Rourke, passed away peacefully at lunchtime on Sunday in St Fiacc’s House, Graiguecullen, surrounded by her family. Margaret was a trailblazer in Irish provincial journalism, with legendary status within the profession as the first woman â in 1954 â to be appointed a staff reporter to a newspaper in the Irish provinces.
Her death occurred exactly a week before her 91st birthday.
Margaret, of Sycamore Road, Rathnapish, Carlow, had taken suddenly ill on Friday morning last and received immediate nursing care from the staff at St Fiacc’s and over the weekend up to her passing, for which her family is deeply grateful.
Margaret was highly regarded and respected in journalist circles. She was a true professional noted for her outstanding news sense, editing skills, headline writing, editorial responsibility, her mentoring and encouragement for young, emerging reporters and her writing style.
Born on 4 October 1935, the former Margaret Perkins was a native of Dublin Road, Carlow. She was daughter of John and Gertrude (Gertie) Perkins (née Russell).
Her father, a native of Naas, Co Kildare, was a master compositor (typesetter) in the printing department of , so Margaret’s entry into the newspaper business was understandable.
Her mother ran a Carlow employment agency.
Margaret received her education from the Mercy Order of nuns across the road from her Dublin Street home. She worked for a short period in the sugar company offices in Carlow, but Margaret’s career choice was always firmly fixed on journalism.
At the tender age of 19, she demonstrated her single mindedness and bravery when approaching Liam D Bergin, managing editor of , seeking a start in the newspaper business. She set out to achieve that by submitting various articles centred on buildings and events in Carlow town.
Eventually, Margaret’s persistence, combined with the quality of her writing, impressed Liam Bergin sufficiently for him to take the step of appointing the young Carlovian as Ireland’s first provincial female reporter. Margaret was breaking through the glass ceiling in Irish provincial journalism which, up to that point, was an all-male domain.
It was also a major challenge for a young woman, but it was a challenge that did not faze Margaret Perkins. And she brought a sense of style, fashion and fun to the newsroom setting.
Her appointment was the beginning of a distinguished career in , which continued until her retirement in September 2000.
Margaret spent 45 years working as a reporter, sub-editor and, for a short period, news editor – many of these years spent alongside her late husband Seamus, who served as news editor with responsibility for layout.
In her role as reporter, Margaret covered meetings of Carlow county and urban councils, all Carlow court sittings and, along with penning general news stories – local tragedies and triumphs – wrote a weekly column for the newspaper over a number of years.
She even strayed into the realm of sport in her early days in the job, cycling out to Carlow Golf Club to collect the weekly results from the Deerpark club.
Margaret was also Carlow correspondent or ‘stringer’ for Dublin daily newspapers.
She and Seamus married in 1962 and went on to have a family of three daughters – Ruth, Maria and Jane â and, as Maria noted in a brief online tribute to her mother, Margaret was at the heart of the O’Rourke family.
Margaret was bereaved by the death of Seamus in January 2014. His passing was a grievous loss to her â they were a very united couple and that deep sense of loss was always to the fore whenever one met Margaret.
Seamus and Margaret had also mourned the loss of the infant deaths of their two sons John and Fiach.
She also suffered the loss of her only sibling, her younger sister Dorothy McKinley, who died in 2019.
Margaret was fortified through her bereavements by the unstinting support of family, friends and wonderful neighbours.
Margaret spent the final two years as a resident in St Fiacc’s House, where she was always welcoming of visitors and she retained to the end a remarkable memory of facts and events, many of which were from her newspaper days.
Family members visited Margaret on a daily basis at St Fiacc’s, which she greatly appreciated.
On Saturday 4 October 2025, to mark Margaret’s 90th milestone birthday, her three daughters Ruth, Maria and Jane were joined by her son-in-law David, grandchildren Hazel, Jack and Rory, along with a small group of Margaret’s friends at Maria’s home on Oak Park Road for a special party.
Her daughter Maria dedicated her successful book to her mother – the publication is a valuable record of the social history of Carlow town and contains much detail concerning the Perkins family.
A staunch trade unionist, Margaret was a life-long, active member of the National Union of Journalists, down the years serving in several officer roles in chapel (branch). She was a superb union negotiator.
Margaret may have inherited her ambitious, independent gene from her mother Gertrude (Gertie) Perkins, the former Gertie Russell from the town’s Brown Street. Gertie was the proprietor of a recruitment agency known as Russell’s Registry, a local employment enterprise which was first established in 1900 by Margaret Russell, Margaret O’Rourke’s grandmother.
Margaret and Seamus O’Rourke are both included in the 2015 book , a publication that charted a local and global footprint of notable people born in Co Carlow, the descendants of Carlow emigrants and several with life-long connections to the Dolmen County.
The narrative surrounding Margaret in the book read: ‘Margaret, through her intimate knowledge of the demands surrounding a provincial newspaper, set many significant names in Irish journalism on their way to big-time reputations in the national newspapers and RTÉ, through her editorial, editing and training skills, allied to sound advice, while plying her trade in .’
Margaret will repose at Healy’s Funeral Home, Pollerton Castle today (Tuesday) from 4pm, concluding with prayers at 7pm.
The funeral Mass for Margaret O’Rourke will be celebrated on Wednesday in the Church of the Holy Family, Askea at 11am, followed by burial in St Mary’s Cemetery.
Margaret is mourned by her daughters Ruth O’Rourke (Leitrim), Maria O’Flaherty (Carlow) and Jane O’Rourke (Carlow), son-in-law David O’Flaherty, grandchildren Jack, Hazel and Rory, sister-in-law Betty, nephews and nieces Carol, Barry, Colman, Louise, Caitriona and Emma, former colleagues, the residents and staff at St Fiacc’s House, neighbours and friends.
