| Nora Bennis | |
| Birth Name: | Nora Shinners |
| Birth Date: | 11 November 1940 |
| Years Active: | 1992 to 2016 |
| Party: | Catholic Democrats |
Nora Bennis (11 November 1940 – 11 February 2019)[1] was an Irish housewife and political activist from Limerick, who was a prominent advocate of traditional Catholic family values in the 1990s.[2]
Bennis was born Nora Shinners, the daughter of Paul Shinners, a veteran of the Easter Rising and Fianna Fáil supporter who emigrated to England and returned to Limerick after marrying Margaret, with whom he had five children.[2] Aged 22, Nora married Gerry Bennis, who worked for Telecom Éireann and was prominent in Limerick GAA;[2] his brothers Richie and Phil both won a 1973 All-Ireland hurling medal.[3] Nora and Gerry had three daughters and a son.[2] She taught Irish dance.[4]
Bennis began her activism after going to a 1990 conference in Brighton hoping to hear Mother Teresa, who did not attend.[2] She was impressed by speakers who criticised the "liberal agenda".[2] After the 1992 X Case reopened Ireland's abortion debate, she started Women Working at Home and the Irish Mothers Working at Home Association, as a support network for housewives who felt isolated or ignored.[2] [5] She criticised the Department of Education's sex education program as being values-free,[6] and its "Stay Safe" program of child sexual abuse awareness as undermining parental authority.[7]
In 1994 she became leader of the Solidarity Movement, an alliance of independent political candidates linked to the Family Solidarity pressure-group.[2] She stood as an independent in Munster in the 1994 European Parliament election, getting 5% of the first-preference vote.[8] This unexpectedly strong showing increased her media profile.[2] In 1995 the Solidarity Movement was part of the "No to Divorce" campaign, one of two coalitions which opposed the successful 1995 referendum to introduce divorce.[2] After the referendum, she founded the National Party, which was anti-abortion and proposed a £100 allowance for non-working mothers.[4] She stood for the party in Limerick East in the general elections of 1997 and 2002 and the 1998 by-election, receiving progressively fewer votes.[8]
Bennis was a spokesperson for Catholic Democrats (previously named National Party and the Christian Democrats) and secretary of Mothers Alliance Ireland; both groups opposed the 2012 children's rights amendment.[9] [10] [11] She formed a group called Alliance of Parents Against the State, intended to co-ordinate opposition to the amendment.[12] She claimed the amendment would put children "in grave danger of being legally snatched by the State".[13]
Bennis was one of three substitutes for Catholic Democrats candidate Theresa Heaney in the South constituency in the 2014 European elections.[14] She was a candidate in the 2016 General Election in the Limerick City constituency, where she failed to be elected, receiving 1.4% of the first-preference vote.[15] [16] [17]
Bennis died in Limerick on 11 February 2019, aged 78.[18]