Like many cities of the former Empire, Belfast has a prominent statue of Queen Victoria. She stands loftily outside the City Hall – but now she has two female companions! On International Women’s Day (8th March) two new statues were unveiled, and unlike Victoria these are radical women.

Mary Ann McCracken

Winifred Carney

On the left above is Mary Anne McCracken (1770-1866), an abolitionist, educator, social reformer and businesswoman, a supporter of the rights of women and the united Irish movement. On the right is Winifred Carney (1887-1943), an Irish suffragist, trade unionist and advocate of Irish independence. You can read more about them in Belfast Media’s coverage of the installation. I particularly like the quotation from Lord Mayor Ryan Murphy, part of which reads:

By adding these statues to the others already sitting proudly in the grounds of City Hall, our aim is to make the building and its grounds more reflective of society. The City Hall needs to reflect the people it serves. These statues celebrate historical female achievement, inclusivity and the diversity of the people that have helped shape our city.

That’s a definite move forward in my book!

Part of Becky’s SquaresRenew Challenge, using images from our April 2024 trip to Northern Ireland to illustrate one or more of the following:

• Move forward
• Reconstruct
• Renew
• Burgeoning