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Mary McGrory

Page 33

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

 

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