Mary Elmes : Short Biography

Mary Elmes was born in Cork on the 5th of May 1908. Mary was a highly educated woman who received a number of scholarships throughout her academic career. Her studies also allowed her to travel to London and Geneva where she further pursued her academic interests. Yet she would eventually leave her academic life behind her to follow her conscience and her heart by volunteering in places that were troubled by war. 

During the Spanish Civil War, Mary travelled to Spain, establishing children's hospitals throughout the country and aiding refugees. Mary was so dedicated to her aid work that she missed her own father's funeral after his sudden death back home in Cork. Mary continued to work with Spanish refugees until the danger became too extreme, at which point she crossed the border into France. However France was on the cusp of experiencing a conflict of its own as the looming threat of Hitler's Third Reich bore down on its borders. Seeing that there was work to be done, Mary set about aiding Jewish refugees in France. She is particularly remembered for her work with children. 

In France, Mary was head of the Quaker delegation in Perpignan. When France fell under Nazi control and the horrific practice of rounding up Jewish people for deportation to the camps began, Mary set about saving as many children as she could from an unthinkable fate. On the 11th of August 1942, the first deportation from South West France to Auschwitz took place. Mary succesfully kept nine children from being deported by hiding them in the boot of her car. She took the children to various safe houses which she had secured in various locations. She repeated this process with each deportation and is thought to have been responsible for saving as many as 427 children from the camps. The Gestapo arrested Mary in 1943 but she was released after 6 months. 

After the war had ended, Mary went on to have a simple life. She spent the rest of her days in France, married and Frenchman and had two children. Throughout her life she refused all accolades and praise that were offered to her. 

She died in 2002, and nine years later was named 'Righteous Among The Nations', a special title given by the state of Israel to non-Jews who helped Jewish people to escape persecution and death during the terrible years of the Holocaust. She is the only Irish person ever to be granted this honour.

In September 2019, a new bridge was opened in Cork city in Mary's name. The opening was attended by two people whom Mary had helped to escape.