Margaret O'Flynn

Margaret Ellen Mary O'Flynn (25 January 1920 – 22 September 2014), known professionally as Margaret Foley, was a British gynaecologist and pioneer of contraception services for women.

She dedicated most of her career to the improvement of women's health in Portsmouth and south east Hampshire, which witnessed a flourishing range of facilities and services in family planning, women's sexual health, and the management of the menopause, as a result of her determination.

Early life She was born Margaret Boulton at Talke of the Hill, Staffordshire, in January 1920, the eldest daughter of Ernest and Edith Boulton.

She became head girl at Orme Girls School and was inspired to study medicine by Miss Sprunt, her headmistress. In 1937, at the age of 17, she took her first MB and following admission to King's College Hospital Medical School, began her second MB, which she later completed in Glasgow after the students were evacuated to there for their own safety during the Second World War. Her father, who had fought as a grenadier in the First World War, encouraged her to contribute to the war effort at the North Staffordshire Royal Infirmary during the summer holidays. John Foley died in 1972 and on returning from her position as senior gynaecologist in Abu Dhabi in 1976, Margaret married general practitioner Garry O'Flynn, and so gained five step-children.

Later life Later, O'Flynn became involved in training, in particular of general practitioners, calling upon her colleagues, including Peel and Dame Josephine Barnes, as tutors. She died on 22 September 2014, at the age of 94 years. One of her grandchildren is now also a doctor, specialising in cardiology; he qualified the year she died. Her granddaughter is a midwife.