Born: 22 January 1883, United Kingdom
Died: 23 March 1960
Country most active: United Kingdom
Also known as: Cecil Mary Nowell Dering Tupper
This biography is republished from The Dictionary of Irish Biography and was written by Frances Clarke. Shared by permission in line with Creative Commons ‘Attribution’ (CC BY) licencing.
Craig, Dame Cecil Mary Nowell Dering (1883–1960), Viscountess Craigavon , unionist, was born 22 January 1883 at 26 Chester Terrace, Belgrave Square, London, the daughter of Daniel (later Sir Daniel) Tupper, assistant comptroller of the lord chamberlain’s department in the king’s household, and Mary Tupper (née Dering). She met her future husband James Craig at a shooting party in Co. Tyrone in 1904, and after a brief engagement was married in the Chapel Royal, St James’s Palace, London, in March 1905. They had twin sons and one daughter.
She soon adapted herself to life in Ulster and took a keen interest in politics. A founder member of the Ulster Women’s Unionist Council (UWUC), she served as its vice-president (1912–23) and president (1923–42). In 1933 she led the UWUC’s delegation at the women’s conference in London. She was also vice-president of the Ulster Unionist Council for more than twenty years. Her husband was appointed as the first prime minister of Northern Ireland in June 1921 and in 1927 elevated to the peerage as Viscount Craigavon. She consistently encouraged him in his political career, and participated in all his political activities – so much so that Lilian Spender, wife of the Northern Ireland cabinet secretary, Sir Wilfrid Spender, noted: ‘Lady C. is much too fond of talking politics all through his [Craig’s] rest time’ (Buckland, 63). During the royal visit in 1937, owing to Craig’s poor health, she took responsibility for performing most of his public duties. She accompanied him on his many cruises abroad, keeping a comprehensive diary of their travels in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, the West Indies, South America, and South Africa throughout the 1920s and 1930s.
Lady Craigavon was a patroness and governor of the Ulster Hospital for Women and Children. Awarded a DBE in 1941, she was also a commander of the Order of St John. Following her husband’s death in 1940, she settled in England. She died 23 March 1960 at her home in Merle, Wiltshire, and was buried, alongside her husband, in the grounds of Stormont. The bridge from Transa Island to Derrymacusey on Upper Lough Erne (opened in 1936) was named after her.