STATUES of two of the most influential women in Belfast’s history were unveiled in the city on Friday to coincide with International Women’s Day.
The sculptures of Mary Ann McCracken and Winifred Carney have been in the grounds of Belfast City Hall, the first non-royals to be honoured in such fashion.
They were created by internationally acclaimed artist Ralf Sander along with his daughter Naomi.
The statues are located on the front lawn area of City Hall either side of a statue that celebrates Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897.
Speaking at the unveiling, Lord Mayor Councillor Ryan Murphy said the sculptures ‘celebrate female achievement, inclusivity and the diversity of the people who have helped shape our city’.
“As these are two of the most notable and influential women in Belfast’s history, it is important that they receive this formal recognition by the council on behalf of the city,” he added.
Influential pair
McCracken, born into an enlightened Presbyterian family in Belfast on July 8, 1770, was an abolitionist, educator, social reformer and businesswoman who fought for the rights of others.
Her statue shows her handing out abolitionist leaflets while wearing a Wedgewood anti-slavery badge.
McCracken was also an Irish language enthusiast and a supporter of the United Irishmen, which organised the 1798 Rebellion against the British Crown in Ireland.
Her older brother, Henry Joy McCracken, was executed for playing a leading role in the rebellion, with Mary Ann by his side as he was led to the gallows.
Carney was born in Bangor, Co. Down on December 4, 1887 and moved with her family to Belfast when she was a child.
A suffragist, committed trade unionist and political activist, she was James Connolly’s personal secretary and political confidante and took part in the 1916 Easter Rising.
Her statue depicts her in the uniform of the Irish Citizen Army, a paramilitary group of trained trade union volunteers that took part in the Rising.
‘Original republican’
Gerry Murphy, Assistant General Secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, told those gather that the sculptures were ‘a reflection of the city as it is now’.
“Mary Ann McCracken was born into a progressive and liberal household during the Enlightenment, an original republican, you might say,” he said.
“She has been described as a ‘radical humanitarian, a social activist, campaigner and entrepreneur’.
“She was a feminist before the word was invented. She was an active supporter of the United Irishmen. She challenged her class and the merchants of Belfast when she campaigned for the abolition of slavery.
“Her concern for the oppressed was spread across the entire social and economic fabric of Belfast from the workhouses to the mills.”
He added of Carney that ‘her politics were shaped by the industrial revolution, by the emergence of Irish Nationalism and its Unionist counter, and by a simultaneous global revolt when socialism took hold in the minds and hearts of working people from every creed and in every nation, city, mine and mill’.