Born 27th June 1931 in Aughaville, Bantry, Co Cork


Our mother Catherine, baptised Kathleen, (known as Cath and Cathy) who passed away on 13th December 2021 as a result of dementia, was an Honorary Alderman for Birmingham City Council. In her role as City Councillor, Catherine was a strong advocate for social justice.


Catherine was the eldest of 8 surviving children, and like so many people of their generation, they all left their native West Cork to find work in England and America. Catherine worked on the buses in Birmingham where she met her future husband, James Finegan, who was from Monaghan. Catherine and Jimmy were married at the Holy Family church in Small Heath. They spent the first years of married life renting rooms, but they eventually settled in Alum Rock, where they raised their 6 children. They were members of the parish of the Holy Rosary Church on Bridge Rd and the children all attended the Rosary primary school.


Always a feisty, independent person, Catherine scandalised others when she refused to sit in the designated women’s section of the church away from her husband on one visit home to Ireland. She resolutely sat next to him amongst the men of the parish causing many tongues to wag over the following years! She also claimed to be the first woman to wear trousers in Caheragh, as it made riding her bike to work that much easier.


Catherine was a sickly child who effectively left school at 8yrs old due to ill health, but she had talent and a thirst for learning, going back to study in her 40’s. Having enrolled at Matthew Boulton College, Catherine studied tailoring and design. She was already a talented seamstress, creating clothes for herself and her family, but now she turned her talents into a business and began taking commissions to make suits, dresses and wedding dresses. She also did piece work for Oasis fashions in the city centre – pre-cut fabric was delivered to the house in bulk, and Catherine made up the finished clothes to be picked up and sold in the shop. Catherine was also a prolific knitter: we remember trooping off to church wearing our arran jumpers or cardigans! Catherine learned to cook during her years in service and was a proficient pastry chef. She made wedding cakes as part of her business venture.


Catherine gained ‘O’ and ‘A’ levels and went on to study an Humanities foundation course with the Open University, finishing only to embark on her political career. She was proud of the books displayed in the wall to ceiling shelving (that she built) in the front room: she boasted of the day my primary school teacher visited and expressed surprise that we, a large, working class, poor family, had books on art, politics and religion.


Catherine’s working life was a varied affair: doing laundry, working in service in several ‘big houses’ before leaving Ireland, and as a ‘clippie’ (conductor) on the buses. Catherine also worked as a hospital auxiliary, on the production line at Smiths crisp factory, and as a bar maid in various pubs. 


 Catherine finally settled into regular work as a breakfast and silver service waitress at the Grand Hotel on Colmore Row, Birmingham. Over the years her children joined her and even Jimmy did several shifts as washer up in the kitchens. Her sister Philomena also worked in the hotel with us, as did some of her children - we joked about it being a family business! 


In the 70s Catherine became involved with a monthly social group for families with children with disabilities. It was through listening to their difficulties and the lack of support available to them that she joined the Labour Party.
Catherine believed in direct action to get things done. She led 2 protests locally for safer streets during which she was arrested for obstructing a road. Her successful campaigns earned the interest of the local Labour Party who invited her to stand in the local elections. She became the first Irish woman to be elected to Birmingham City Council.


At the time of her election Catherine was a breakfast waitress and a photo of her holding a tray outside the Grand Hotel appeared in the Evening Mail.
Catherine poured her heart and soul into her role as a councillor. She thrived off having a cause to fight for and worked hard to resolve the issues of people who felt their voices weren’t heard.


During her time on the council, she sat on many committees and made a great impact across the city.


Catherine was made Honorary Alderman of the City of which she was incredibly proud.


Her beloved Jimmy died in 2009.


Catherine is survived by her
siblings: Margaret Reed (Eureka, California); Philomena Phillips (Birmingham, England); and Peter O’Driscoll (San Francisco) children: Peter, Breda, Brendan, Nuala, Gerard and Siobhan. 12 grandchildren (2 grandchildren pre-deceased her) and 8 great grandchildren (including 2 step great grandchildren)