Lucy Bhreatnach was born Maria de la Piedad Lucila Hellman de Menchaca on 8 October 1924 in
Algorta, Bizkaia, in the Basque Country. Her parents were Lucila de Menchaca Dilis and Franz Heinrich Hellman, a German businessman. She had two brothers. The family fled Spain during the
civil war, but returned later. She met
Deasún Breatnach in
Madrid, and they married on 31 July 1947, after which she was known as Lucy Bhreatnach. Alongside her husband, Bhreatnach was an advocate for human rights globally, particularly opposed the authoritarian regimes in South America. She supported women's rights, and was a founding member of the local branch of
Amnesty International in Dún Laoghaire. Both of them supported their son, Osgur, throughout a long battle to exonerate him from a conviction relating a
train robbery. He was a founding member of
Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP). ==References==