Margaret Feeny

MBE
Born
Margaret Mary Feeny

1917
Died3 January 2012(2012-01-03) (aged 94–95)
Known forFounder and first director of the Africa Centre, London

Margaret Mary Feeny MBE (1917 – 3 January 2012) was the founder and first director of London's Africa Centre charity, from 1963 to 1978.[1]

Biography

Margaret Feeny was born in 1917, the eleventh of twelve children of a businessman.[2]

Feeny was General Secretary of the Sword of the Spirit, which became the Catholic Institute for International Relations (CIIR),[3] and then Progressio.[4] She conceptualized the Africa Centre, London, and organised support from both Africans and Britons to bring the idea to fruition.[5] The Africa Centre was registered as a charity in 1961, and in 1964 opened to the public at 38 King Street, Covent Garden,[6][7] with Feeny as its first director. She remained in that role from 1963 until 1978.[1]

In 1975, she moved to Bath, Somerset. She became a Social Democratic Party then Liberal Democrat councillor in 1994, and Mayor of Bath in 1996, but had a stroke while on official business to their twin town of Aix-en-Provence.[8] She died in early 2012 aged 94 and her funeral took place at St John's Church, South Parade, Bath, on 18 January.

References

  1. 1 2 Trustees of the Africa Centre (18 January 2012). "The Africa Centre — Margaret Feeny MBE". Ftp.africacentre.org.uk. Archived from the original on 5 March 2017. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  2. ↑ Tom Craigmyle. "Margaret Mary Feeny, MBE (1917–2012)" (PDF). Progressio.org.uk. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  3. ↑ From Sword to Ploughshare. Sword of the Spirit to Catholic Institute for International Relations 1940–1980 by Michael Walsh
  4. ↑ "Tribute to Margaret Feeny". Progressio.org.uk. 19 January 2012. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  5. ↑ "About Us | Our Story". London: The Africa Centre. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  6. ↑ "London's Africa Centre – a glorious history". New African. 2 July 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  7. ↑ Arboine, Niellah (27 September 2022). "The Return of the Africa Centre in London". Contemporary And (C&). Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  8. ↑ "Former mayor was a strong character". Bath Chronicle. 12 January 2012. Retrieved 9 March 2016.

Images of Margaret Feeney: "Margaret Feeney, 2 February 1983"; "Margaret Feeney outside the Guildhall, Bath 1996?", Bath In Time (online images).

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