Kate O'Beirne, who was president of National Review Institute after serving as the magazine's Washington editor, died from lung cancer on Sunday, National Review reported.
Born in 1949 and raised in a traditional Irish Catholic family in Manhasset, New York, O'Beirne was also known for defending conservative values for a decade on CNN's marquee political talk show "Capital Gang," which led to other commentary work in television.
The Weekly Standard's William Kristol described her as "a stalwart of the conservative movement who never manifested the stodginess or self-importance that one associates with stalwarts," adding that O'Beirne "was bright and wise (not so common a combination), and (even less common a combination) at once knowledgeable and knowing."
O'Beirne's "Bread and Circuses" column and her television commentary were "marked by a rare combination of a deep interest in conservative policy, psychological insight, and common sense," according to National Review's Ramesh Ponnuru, who also said that she was a passionate Catholic who took "great satisfaction in the people she had brought, or brought back, to it."
Another colleague at National Review, Mona Charen, described the "countless examples of her sterling wit, and her quite deep wisdom. She lit up every gathering, and enlivened every conversation. Never once did she pick up the phone without making you feel that the one thing in the world she most wanted was to speak to you at that moment."
A graduate of St. John's University School of Law, O'Beirne held several positions during her career before joining National Review in 1995, including vice president of government relations for The Heritage Foundation and deputy assistant secretary for legislation at the Department of Health and Human Services under President Ronald Reagan.
O'Beirne is survived by her husband and two children, as well as grandchildren and sisters.
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