by John Norris
Phil Gailey, Maureen Dowd, David Halberstam, Anna Quindlen, and others turned out to pay tribute to Mary. “If the evening had any excess,” Gailey recalled, “it was at the bar and not at the speaker’s lectern.”
Mary’s condition seemed to stabilize, but gains in her language rehabilitation remained elusive. In March 2004, she was again honored, this time at the American Ireland Fund’s 12th National Gala, on the eve of Saint Patrick’s Day. Harps and Celtic songs played in the background as laughter and tall tales were the order of the evening. British prime minister Tony Blair, Mary, and Representative Peter King were honorees. A number of speakers marveled at the progress of the peace process in Northern Ireland, and the Irish prime minister, Bertie Ahern, personally thanked Mary for all she had done for the cause of peace. “Here in Washington, you may like to think of her as one of your own,” said Ahern, “but we know her as Mary from the shores of Lough Swilly, who is not only a great friend of many years’ standing, but a very dear member of our extended family as well.”
After Ahern’s remarks, and to everyone’s amazement, Mary offered three or four perfect sentences of thanks. “It was amazing,” said Phil Gailey, and surely it had required a monumental effort on Mary’s part.
Mary’s aphasia kept her away from St. Ann’s for longer than she would have liked. Not being able to read to the children was simply too painful. “After Mary had her stroke, she did not come here for a while,” said Sister Josephine Murphy. “I was very upset about that, because our children understand people’s problems.” But the sisters from St. Ann’s made regular visits to Mary and joined her in prayer in her living room, and Josephine eventually convinced her to pay a visit to St. Ann’s.
Sister Josephine carefully briefed the children in advance. She told them that Mary was going to come but that she was sick and would not be able to talk the way she had before. “They just accepted her,” said Josephine, “and she just accepted them.”
Before her stroke, Mary had made a particular impression on one of the boys who struggled with a speech impediment. Mary had singled him out for special attention, reading to him for hours.
During the visit, Josephine poked her head in to see how Mary was doing with the children. The boy, who had overcome his speech impediment, was sitting on Mary’s lap. He glanced up at Josephine.
“When I couldn’t read and I needed help, Mary Gloria was here for me,” the boy explained. “She helped me. Now Mary Gloria can’t read too good and needs help, and I am reading to her.”
On April 16, 2004, Mary’s appendix burst and she was rushed to George Washington University Hospital for surgery. On April 21, 2004, Mary Dorothy McGrory died at the age of eighty-five, following complications from surgery.
On a spring day in Washington, dappled with sun and rain, her funeral was conducted just as she had directed.
Mary was laid to rest at Maplewood Cemetery, in Antrim, New Hampshire. Her headstone is modest. It is inscribed: MARY MCGRORY: NEWSPAPER WOMAN AND VOLUNTEER. The words, of course, are her own.
Index
Abernethy, Bob, 203–4
Abernethy, Jean, 203
abortion, 149, 176, 183–84, 241
Abramoff, Jack, 209
Abzug, Bella, 143
Acosta, Liz, 44, 139, 200, 202, 221
Adams, Gerry, 246–47, 265
Adams family (Star owners), 13
Advise and Consent (Drury), 38
Afghanistan, 280, 282
affirmative action, 143
Agnew, Spiro, 124, 131–32, 135
Ahern, Bertie, 290
AIDS, 228, 229
Allbritton, Joe, 164–68, 173–75, 177–81, 198, 239
Ford endorsed by, 173–75
All the President’s Men, 167
Al Qaeda, 283
Alsop, Joe, 35
Alsop, Stewart, 36, 82
Alterman, Eric, 12
Amanpour, Christiane, 248
American Ireland Fund, 289–90
Antrim, N.H., 68, 139–41, 160–61, 208, 215, 236, 250, 268, 291
Antrim, USS, 208
Arkansas Gazette, 195
Armstrong, Neil, 134
Army-McCarthy hearings, 2–7, 17, 36, 158, 159, 234, 271
Arvidson, Cheryl, 226
Ashcroft, John, 280
Associated Press, 82
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 251
Austen, Jane, 59, 206–7, 269
Bader, Mary, 15
Baker, Jim, 242
Baker, Russell, 31, 38–39, 55, 169, 261, 286–87
at event honoring McGrory with Fourth Estate Award, 265
Ball, George, 47
Barnes, Bob, 272
Barnes, Fred, 139
Barnicle, Mike, 248
Baudouin, King, 77
Bay of Pigs invasion, 56
Beale, Betty, 127–28
Beatles, 81
Beatty, Anne (niece), 140, 204, 215, 272–73, 286
Beatty, Tom, 140, 272–73
Begala, Paul, 243
Begin, Menachem, 185
Bellows, Jim, 166–67, 174–76, 177–79, 181–82, 198, 218
Bennett, Phil, 272
Bentsen, Lloyd, 223, 224
Berger, Sandy, 275
Berke, Richard, 248
Berlin Wall, 61, 228, 231
Bernstein, Carl, 144, 149–50, 159, 160
Bernstein, Leonard, 123
Biden, Joe, 221, 233
Blair, Tony, 290
Block, Herbert, 5
Bond, Alice Dixon, 12
Borger, Gloria, 145, 211, 288
Boston, Mass., 8–13, 19, 26–28, 35, 37, 40, 50, 55–56, 60, 135, 139, 214, 219, 236, 268, 274
Boston Globe, 7, 22, 35, 37, 73, 86, 212, 248, 257–58, 267, 273, 289
Boston Herald, 258
Boston Herald Traveler, 12, 34–35
Bourgeois, Roy, 256
Boys on the Bus, The (Crouse), 151–52
Bradlee, Ben, 55, 66, 94, 98, 116, 150, 166, 196, 200, 202, 203, 205, 217–18, 228, 232, 271, 281
Broder, David, 24, 212, 275
Brokaw, Tom, 168, 272
Brown, Edmund “Pat,” 64
Brown, Sam, 132–34, 136–37
Brown, Tina, 270
Buchanan, Pat, 212, 236–37, 239–41, 257, 263
Buchwald, Art, 66, 156, 168
Buckley, William F., Jr., 212
Bundy, McGeorge, 72
Burke, Richard, 13
Bush, Barbara, 189, 242, 273
Bush, George H. W., 188, 189, 226–28, 242, 273
Eastern Europe and, 228
elected president, 224
Gulf War and, 231–32
Iran-contra scandal and, 222, 241–42
in presidential election of 1988, 222–24
in presidential election of 1992, 236–37, 239, 241–42
Thomas nomination and, 233–35
Bush, George W.:
Iraq War and, 282–86
Patriot Act and, 280
in presidential election of 2000, 273–75
September 11 attacks and, 278, 280, 281
Butterfield, Alexander, 158
Califano, Joseph, 82
Callaghan, James, 179
Cambodia, 137, 138, 153
Campbell, Judith, 42
Carpenter, Liz, 90
Carter, Amy, 190
Carter, Jimmy, 173, 175, 180, 185, 187, 191, 209, 222, 237
elected president, 176
hostage crisis and, 188, 190
in presidential election of 1980, 187–90
Cassady, John, 72, 75, 76, 197
Castro, Fidel, 56, 79
CBS, 5, 7, 22, 23, 24�
�25, 41, 54, 88, 116, 121, 143, 155, 179, 188
CBS Evening News, 113
Central America, 207
Challenger, 219
Charles, Prince, 198
Cheney, Dick, 208, 274, 275, 276
Chicago Daily News, 70, 180
children, 228–31
Family Reunification Act and, 229–31, 254
Gingrich and, 250–51
St. Ann’s and, see St. Ann’s Infant and Maternity Home
Chisholm, Shirley, 143
Christian Right, 241
Christian Science Monitor, 62
civil rights, 70–71, 79, 82, 84, 85, 96
Johnson and, 89–90
southern strategy and, 85
Clark, Blair, 22, 24–25, 39, 41–42, 54, 55, 83, 88–89, 91, 97, 106, 108, 110, 111, 258
death of, 269
as Eugene McCarthy’s campaign chairman, 106–7, 108, 110–13, 116, 118–22
McGrory’s relationship with, 29, 54, 58–59, 97–99, 108, 117, 129, 130, 132
remarriage of, 98–99, 106, 129
Clark, Holly, 29, 39, 41, 54
Clark (Rostropowicz), Joanna, 98–99, 106, 269
Clark, Tim, 98
Cleary, Gertrude, 139, 267
Cleveland, Grover, 142
Clinton, Bill, 243–49, 251, 252, 262, 275, 276
elected president, 242
first hundred days of presidency, 244
Gingrich and, 253
impeachment of, 261–64
McGrory at White House dinner of, 244–45
Northern Ireland and, 246–48
Oklahoma City bombing and, 252, 253
in presidential election of 1992, 237–42
in presidential election of 1996, 258–59
press conferences of, 249
St. Ann’s and, 254, 255
scandals surrounding, 237, 248–49, 260–63
Whitewater and, 248–49, 260
Clinton, Hillary, 237, 241, 244, 245, 248, 250, 273
health care and, 245, 252, 253
McGrory’s question to, 239
St. Ann’s and, 254
Clough, Arthur Hugh, 72
Cohn, Lee, 287–89
Cohn, Roy, 2–6
Colby College, 218
Cold War, 56, 61–62, 207
Collins, Gail, 212
Colson, Charles “Chuck,” 146, 156, 270
Commonweal, 46
communism, 2, 6, 17, 30, 46, 64, 105, 138, 209, 228
Compton, Ann, 210
Congress, 30–32, 48–49, 61, 63, 72, 154, 160, 180, 207–8, 216, 220, 227–28, 231–32, 235, 245, 249, 262, 268
contraception, 183–84
Conyers, John, 155
Corn, David, 220, 274
Corn, Herbert, 5
Corrigan, Bill, 256–57
Corrigan, Lil, 256–57
Cravath, Swaine & Moore, 240
Cronkite, Walter, 89, 113, 140, 208, 264
Crouse, Timothy, 151–52
Cuba:
Bay of Pigs invasion, 56, 79
missile crisis, 64, 66, 68
Cuomo, Mario, 209–10, 214, 221–23, 235–36
Cushing, Richard Cardinal, 78
Daley, Richard J., 125
Dark Side of Camelot, The (Hersh), 55
Darman, Richard, 210–11
Davis, Sammy, Jr., 41, 93
de Gaulle, Charles, 56–58, 61, 77
Dean, John, 154, 155
Deep Throat, 160
Democratic National Conventions:
of 1964, 85, 87–88
of 1968, 124–28
of 1972, 149
of 1976, 175
of 1980, 189
of 1992, 240
of 1996, 259
Dever, Paul, 28
Diana, Princess, 198
Dickenson, James, 176
Dickinson, Bill, 232
Dodd, Chris, 288
Dole, Bob, 222, 257
Donahue, Phil, 283
Donlon, Seán, 205
Dowd, Maureen, 2, 16, 33, 92, 139, 140, 195, 212, 236, 248, 263, 266, 287, 289
at event honoring McGrory with Fourth Estate Award, 264–65
Dowd, Mike, 2
Downie, Len, 232–33, 239, 282, 289
Doyle, Michael, 79–80
Drudge, Matt, 261
Drudge Report, 261
drugs, 228, 229
Drummon, Roscoe, 62
Drury, Allen, 38–39
Dukakis, Michael, 221–25
Dunfey, Bill, 104, 112, 113
Eagleton, Thomas, 149, 152
Edelman, Peter, 103, 109, 120
Editha, Sister, 29, 97, 99, 129, 147
Editor & Publisher, 37
Ed Sullivan Show, The, 81
Ehrlichman, John, 93, 146, 155
meeting between war protestors and, 132–34, 136
Eisenhower, Dwight D., 2, 5, 22, 28, 30, 34, 39, 48, 78
Elijah Parish Lovejoy Award, 217–18
Elizabeth II, Queen, 175
El Salvador, 207, 284
Emma (Austen), 206, 207
Emmanuel College, 11
Ervin, Sam, 158
Eugene Meyer Award, 280–81
Evans, Rowland, 109
Family Reunification Act, 229–31, 254
FBI, 154
Federal Communications Commission (FCC), 179, 180
feminism, 23, 143–45, 151, 214, 239, 241
Ferraro, Geraldine, 213–15
Fisher, Fred, 6–7
Fitzwater, Marlin, 191
Fleeson, Doris, 6, 34, 82–83, 95, 143
death of, 139
Fleischer, Ari, 283
Folliard, Edward, 66
Following of Christ, The (Thomas à Kempis), 184
Ford, Gerald, 163, 168, 173, 189
Allbritton’s endorsement of, 173–75
Nixon pardoned by, 163
presidency assumed by, 161, 163, 172
in presidential election of 1976, 172–76
Foster, Vince, 249
Fourth Estate Award, 264–67
Frances, Sister, 67
Franklin Delano Roosevelt Four Freedoms Award, 251–52
Frederika, Queen, 77
Friedan, Betty, 143
Fritz, Sara, 277
Gailey, Phil, 92, 116, 130, 139–41, 143–44, 162, 186–87, 196, 198, 199, 204, 243, 270, 277, 287, 289, 290
Gallaudet University, 14
Gart, Murray, 181–83, 186, 192–98, 200, 232, 265, 282
Gay, Lance, 74, 139, 147, 175, 196, 203, 287
Gearan, Mark, 243, 277
Gelb, Arthur, 13, 18
Gephardt, Dick, 238
Gergen, David, 210
Germond, Jack, 24, 118–19, 144, 166, 181–82, 213, 227, 270–72
Getler, Mike, 279
Giancana, Sam, 42
Gibson, Gwen, 116
Gingrich, Newt, 227, 250–51, 253–54, 259, 260, 263
Girls’ Latin School, 10, 11, 15, 23, 76–77
Giuliani, Rudy, 278
Goldberg, Arthur, 33, 67
Goldwater, Barry, 62–63, 71, 84, 85, 89, 93, 99
Good Friday peace agreement, 248
Goodwin, Doris Kearns, 82
Goodwin, Richard, 110
Gorbachev, Mikhail, 215–16
Gore, Al, 240, 258, 273–75
Graham, Don, 33, 200, 233, 259, 281
Graham, Katharine, 18, 150
Graham, Kay, 33, 90, 200, 264
death of, 276
at event honoring McGrory w
ith Fourth Estate Award, 264–66
Graham, Phil, 18, 200, 266
Greenfield, Meg, 196–97, 269
Gridiron Club, 103, 142, 164–65, 178, 226–27
Gulf War, 231–32
Haig, Alexander M., Jr., 137, 207
Halberstam, David, 289
Haldeman, H. R., 146–47, 155
Halleck, Charles, 63–64
Hamilton, Bill, 233, 277
Hannan, Philip M., 78
Harpaz, Beth, 273–74
Harris, Fred, 60
Harris, Lou, 70, 97
Hart, Gary, 213, 221–22
Hawk, David, 136
health care, 245, 249, 251, 252, 253
Healy, Bob, 73, 212
Hersh, Seymour, 55
Hiatt, Fred, 282
Hill, Anita, 234, 235
Hill, Bill, 75
HIV/AIDS, 228, 229
Hobby, W. P., 66
Hoffman, Burt, 73, 75, 127
homosexuality, 183–85, 241
hostages:
in Iran, 188, 190
in Lebanon, 220
Houghton Mifflin Publishing Company, 11, 12
House Judiciary Committee, 161
Houston Post, 66
Humphrey, Hubert, 39, 42–46, 87, 88
in presidential election of 1968, 119, 120, 123–29
Vietnam and, 119, 127, 128
Humphrey, Muriel, 44
Hutchens, John, 12, 13
Ikenberry, Ken, 233, 276, 285
Internet, 35, 261, 271–72
Iran-contra scandal, 219–21, 222, 241–42, 283
Iran hostage crisis, 188, 190
Iraq, 231–32, 280, 282–86
Ireland, 26, 69, 109, 205, 246–48, 290
McGrory’s trip to, 248, 265
Irish Americans, 247
in Boston, 8–10, 13, 27, 28
in media, 263
Irish National Caucus, 205
Irish Republican Army (IRA), 246, 247
IRS, 146–48, 155, 156, 226, 255
Italy, 18–21, 60–61, 69, 102, 140, 183–84, 206, 243, 262–63, 277
“It Helps to Know Thine Enemy” (McKelway), 156–58
Ivans, Molly, 212
Jackson, Andrew, 244
Jacobs, Emma (Aunt Kate), 13, 68, 139–40, 214
death of, 214–15
Jane Arden comic strip, 12
Jane Austen Society, 207
John XXIII, Pope, 61
death of, 69, 95
John Chancellor Award for Excellence in Journalism, 289
John Paul I, Pope, 185
John Paul II, Pope, 185
Johnson, Haynes, 34, 38, 60, 71, 79, 94–95, 105, 117, 158, 233