Maureen was born on December 22, 1944 in Feenish Island, Ireland in County Galway. She is the oldest of fifteen children, ten of which are still living. On August 15th, 1962 when she was just seventeen years old, she flew across the country from Ireland to Boston, Massachusetts by herself. Once in Boston, she lived with various aunts and uncles in Dorchester and worked to gain her American citizenship.