IN a lovely pub in the Bronx in New York this week I was lucky enough to be part of an event to celebrate ordinary Irish Americans who have contributed to their own communities and to building peace and justice in Ireland.
I am old enough to remember the dark times when Irish American support was the difference between despair and hope; when working class representatives were censored by Britain and in Ireland; when political prisoners were being tortured, strip searched and forced to use their own bodies in resistance against brutal regimes; when children and women were being maimed by plastic and rubber bullets; when families had loved ones killed by the state and in collusion. And few at home wanted to know. It was Irish America that chose, that made the decision, to pay attention.
In that Bronx room were Kathleen Savage from Boston and Marion Reynolds from New York. Marion was being honoured by the Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH).
Last week Clara Reilly and her sisters Brigid and Maura were honoured by Relatives for Justice. Clara’s work for human rights and victims and survivors should have seen her honoured by the Irish President, and is another indication of the neglect of working class republican women by the Irish state. This woman, who had six children to rear and a job as a nurse auxiliary to hold down in the middle of a conflict, set the standard for upholding human rights standards without fear or favour. The AOH awarded Clara Reilly the Seán McBride Freedom Award a number of years ago for her work on human rights and the defence of families bereaved by conflict.
There was never a moment when there was a conversation about Irish American support for human rights that Clara did not mention Marion Reynolds and the work Marion dedicated her life to. It is not a coincidence that these two women found a lifelong connection.
There are few bars in Belfast that Kathleen Savage walks into where there is no-one that knows her. For fifty years Kathleen has been coming to Ireland, with her beautiful Massachusetts accent and her quiet but effective solidarity and support.
The role of women in the struggle for human rights and Irish unity is often overlooked. Too often if it is mentioned it is with lip service. That phrase “women were the backbone of the struggle” is meant well, but is rarely meaningful. Noticing where women were and are, the forms of work they carry out, resourcing it and giving it meaningful recognition is what is required.
As we move into a new era of constitutional change women will need to be at the heart of that change. They will be the organisers, persuaders and the mountain movers.
Kathleen, Marion and Clara were ordinary citizens that chose to pay attention to harms and to the lives of others who were being oppressed despite the risks and the costs. Who chose to face into the might of the British establishment and their allies. They did not need to do that. It was their choice. Noticing them and their example is our choice.
Long overdue recognition is due to the women who have gone before us, but now we need to recognise the new era of women’s meaningful participation and ensure that women are at the centre of change for a new Ireland.
