Bridget Moran

Bridget Moran (September 1, 1923- August 21, 1999), née Drugan, was a prominent social activist and author in British Columbia. Born in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, shortly after her birth her family emigrated to Success, Saskatchewan, where she grew up.

After attending Normal School, she taught school in rural Saskatchewan until 1944 when she enlisted in the Women's Royal Canadian Service. Discharged from the Navy in 1946, she received a B.A. in Philosophy and English with Honours, graduating as a gold medalist from the University of Toronto. She began work on a Master's Degree in History, but was unable to continue because the Department of Veterans' Affairs refused to provide financial support on the grounds that they found no women teaching in history departments in Canada.

As a result, she immigrated to British Columbia and began a career as a social worker in Prince George in November, 1951. In 1964 the provincial government suspended her, along with four other social workers, for their public criticisms of child welfare services, including an open letter to Premier W.A.C. Bennett. She ultimately won reinstatement but was not able to work any more for the provincial Ministry of Social Services. Thereafter, she worked as a social worker for the Prince George Regional Hospital, the University of Victoria Social Work Department, and, from 1977 until 1989, for the Prince George school district.

Around the time of her retirement from the Prince George School District, she became interested in the inquest into the death of Coreen Thomas, a Carrier Indian woman. At the inquest she met Mary John, Sr.. In 1988, Mary John's daughter Helen Jones, asked her to write her mother's biography. Mary John told her the story of her life, resulting in the award-winning book Stoney Creek Woman. This was the beginning of her career as a writer. In addition to "Stoney Creek Woman", she wrote Judgment at Stoney Creek, about the death of Coreen Thomas, A Little Rebellion, about her work with the Ministry of Social Services and , a biography of Carrier Indian leader Justa Monk.

Her book Prince George Remembered is based on oral history interviews that she began to conduct soon after her arrival in Prince George.

Moran was married for many years to Pat Moran whom she married in 1955 and with him had four children. Her daughter
Mayo Moran is Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto.

In her later years, Moran served on the boards of the College of New Caledonia, the Legal Services Society of British Columbia, and the Yinka Dene Language Institute.

She received many honors for her writing, including the Lieutenant Governor's Medal for Historical Writing from the British Columbia Historical Federation and the Jeanne Clark Memorial Award for Local History. She was an honorary member of the Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women. She received honorary Doctor of Laws degrees from the University of Northern British Columbia (1995) and the University of Victoria (1996).In 2003, the City of Prince George commissioned a statue of her by sculptor Nathan Scott and erected it at the intersection of Third Avenue and Québec Street.

She is remembered for having consistently fought on behalf of the weak and underprivileged.At her memorial service in Prince George, the concluding hymn was Solidarity Forever.

Works

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References

* [http://www.abcbookworld.com/?state=view_author&author_id=3001 bio at ABCBookworld]
* [http://www.arsenalpulp.com/contributorinfo.php?index=25 blurb at Arsenal Pulp Press]
* [http://www.ydli.org/cultinfo/bios.htm#bridgetmoran bio at Yinka Dene Language Institute]
* [http://www.lib.pg.bc.ca/node/1580 Prince George Public Library bio]