The Story of the McEuens

Mhairi Angela de Castro (née Fenton-McEuen)
1918–2003

Mhairi (pronounced “varry”) spent her early childhood in St. Agathe, Quebec, with her parents. After her mother’s death in 1923, she moved to St Andrews, Fife, to live with her uncle and aunt, Dr. and Mrs. Charles Stuart McEuen. When her grandfather passed away soon after, the three returned to Canada. Mhairi attended school in Montreal and Ottawa before completing her education at a private school in Scotland.

With the outbreak of World War II, she briefly served in France driving ambulances before returning to Canada. In Halifax, she assisted her aunt, Janet Evelyn “Dolly” McEuen, in running the Ajax Club for British sailors, offering them rest, hospitality, and friendship while off duty. The club’s success funded scholarships for 15 young British sailors to attend McGill University, with the McEuen home near Mont Tremblant serving as a welcoming retreat.

Dolly McEuen, born in St Andrews and later a resident of Canada, had long envisioned helping students of Scottish heritage study in their ancestral homeland. In 1974, she and Mhairi created the McEuen Scholarship Foundation, enabling outstanding Canadian students to pursue undergraduate studies at the University of St Andrews—founded in 1413 and among the oldest universities in the English-speaking world. The scholarship covers tuition, living expenses, and an annual book allowance, supporting three to four Canadians each year.
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Following Dolly’s death in 1987, Mhairi became the Foundation’s steward, a role she embraced until her own passing in 2003. Her dedication helped secure the scholarship’s future, allowing it to celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2024. Today, thanks to the enduring generosity of the McEuen family, the Foundation continues to provide transformative opportunities for Canadians at the University of St Andrews.

Revive and Grow Strong: The Story of the McEuens and the McEuen Scholarship Foundation
By John Henry Aylen with Marielle McGovern and Katherine Gombay
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Revive and Grow Strong is the story of the McEuens in Canada and in St Andrews. Dolly and Mhairi McEuen both had a love for Canada and for Scotland, and they were committed to creating strong links between both countries. Their initiatives in this regard began with the Ajax Club in Halifax, The Ajax Scholarship that brought British servicemen to study at McGill University after the war, and finally the McEuen Scholarship which has sent a Canadian student to St Andrews every year since 1974. Revive and Grow Strong also includes profiles of McEuen Scholars from the beginning of the Scholarship until 2010 when the book was first published.

Praise for Revive and Grow Strong
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"The story of Dolly and Mhairi McEuen is a fascinating tale of how two extraordinary women made their way in a male-dominated world. Having money may have made their lives more comfortable, but it also presented a splay of difficult choices. This simple, factual account of two memorable characters reads like a novel. Bravo to John Aylen and the caretakers of their great philanthropic adventure for putting the pieces together in a wonderful book."
Marianne Ackerman, The Rover

"Revive and Grow Strong is an important record of the contribution of Montreal Scots in the past and present. The McEuen donation to the St. Andrew's Society of Montreal still provides important support to the extended Scottish community today and will do so will far into the future."
Peter McAuslan, Past President, St. Andrew's Society of Montreal