death_date nationality ethnicity birth_date alt residence death_place title notable_works spouse image name occupation resting_place birth_place known_for movement religion article_title birth_name
29 june 1933 english jewish 1 september 1857 lady desart aut even , kilkenny waterloo road , dublin countess of desart kilkenny mills , kilkenny woodworkers , kilkenny theatre , the tobacco library growers association , desart hall , talbots inch village and , talbots inch suspension bridge . aut even hospital , the woollen william cuffe -lrb- 1845 -- 1898 -rrb- file : ellen cuffe , countess of desart.jpg ellen cuffe irish politician , company director and philanthropist falmouth , cornwall london , england philanthropy and politics gaelic league judaism ellen cuffe , countess of desart
 ellen odette bischoffsheim
ellen cuffe , countess of desart

ellen odette cuffe , countess of desart , née bischoffsheim -lrb- 1 september 1857 -- 29 june 1933 -rrb- was an irish politician , company director and philanthropist who has been called ' `` the most important jewish woman in irish history '' .
she married william cuffe -lrb- 1845 -- 1898 -rrb- , the 4th earl of desart in on the 29th of april 1881 at christ church in down street , mayfair .
she was the daughter of henri louis bischoffsheim , a wealthy jewish banker of german origin .
he was responsible for founding three of the largest banks in the world ; the deutsche bank , paribas bank , and societe generale .
after the death of her husband lady desart left the house in cuffesgrange and moved to her home in aut even -lrb- a transcription of '' Áit aoibhinn '' , the irish for `` beautiful place '' -rrb- on the outskirts of kilkenny city .
she was interested in the gaelic revival of the time and became a member of the gaelic league and was elected its president , succeeding her brother-in-law , capt. otway cuffe , who was mayor of kilkenny .
she commissioned the village of talbot 's inch to be built by the architect william alphonsus scott .
along with several other projects she and capt. cuffe developed together .
these included ; kilkenny library , aut even hospital , the woollen mills , kilkenny woodworkers , kilkenny theatre , the tobacco growers association , desart hall and talbots inch suspension bridge .
in relation to her support of the irish language , lady desart reminded the people that her own people , the jews , had in their new palestine colony revived a forgotten language and used it to re-unite the scattered remnants of their nation .
on 3 november 1910 , lady desart formally opened the carnegie library for the very first time with a silver key supplied by p.t. murphy , jeweller , high st. , kilkenny .
she was appointed to the irish free state seanad Éireann as an independent member in december 1922 by the president of the executive council .
she was one of four women elected or appointed to the first seanad in 1922 .
she was the first jew to serve as a senator in ireland .
she was appointed for 12 years in 1922 and served until her death in 1933 .
lady desart as president of the women 's committee from 1908 -- 33 , was directly involved in the rescue of approximately 300,000 women and children .
she is buried along with her anglo-irish husband william cuffe -lrb- from desart cuffsgrange , county kilkenny -rrb- in falmouth , cornwall .
the tombstone reads `` they were together in their lives , and in their deaths they shall not be divided '' .
she died on the 29th of june 1933 at waterloo rd , dublin , aged 75 .
on her death her probate recorded a will of # 1,500,000 .
all of this money was donated to the various charities that she was associated with .
she is commemorated in the city of kilkenny 's lady desart pedestrian bridge , which was unveiled by kilkenny city borough council in 2014 .
