Born: 22 August 1929, India
Died: 8 October 1992
Country most active: United Kingdom
Also known as: Felicity Jane Randall
This biography is republished from The Dictionary of Irish Biography and was written by . Shared by permission in line with Creative Commons ‘Attribution’ (CC BY) licencing.
Christopher Thomas Ewart-Biggs’ second marriage (5 May 1960) to (Felicity) Jane Randall brought him happiness; she was glamorous, warm, sociable, and an excellent diplomat’s wife. They had a son and two daughters.
Jane Ewart Biggs (1929–92) was driving to London from Fishguard in 1976 when she heard the news of his assassination on the car radio. Her reaction was much admired. Within a week she gave an RTÉ broadcast, saying she felt no bitterness and urging people to commemorate her husband’s death by remembering his hopes for peace. To this end she set up the Christopher Ewart-Biggs Memorial literary prize to recognise work that promoted peace and encouraged understanding between Britain and Ireland. Beneficiaries have included historians F. S. L. Lyons and J. H. Whyte, and dramatists Sebastian Barry and Brian Friel. She was involved in the Peace Movement, founded by Mairead Corrigan and Betty Williams, and was a member of Lord Kilbrandon’s all-party commission of inquiry on Northern Ireland in 1984. After joining the British Labour party, she became a life peer in 1981. She died of cancer in hospital in Fulham, London, on 8 October 1992, three weeks after marrying Kevin O’Sullivan, her partner of fourteen years.