Dorinda Neligan (9 June 1833 – 17 July 1914) was an Irish born

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

headmistress and suffragette.

Life

Neligan was born in

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

in 1833. She was the fifth child of Lieutenant Thomas Neligan. Despite having a soldier as a father she objected to war. She was educated at home, in Paris and Germany and she went on to work as a "finishing governess". She then did notable work leading nursing at the siege of

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand E ...

during the Franco Prussian War from 1870 to 1871. She learned French and German and taught French, and Neligan was the founding head of

Croydon High School Croydon High School is an Independent school (UK), independent day school for girls located near Croydon, London, England. It is one of the original schools founded by the Girls' Day School Trust. History The school was founded in 1874 in Welles ...

in 1874, where she remained for 27 years. The school was backed by

Maria Georgina Grey Maria Georgina Grey (''née'' Shirreff; 7 March 1816 – 19 September 1906), also known as Mrs William Grey, was a British educationist and writer who promoted women's education and was one of the founders of the organisation that became the ...

and was part of the

Girls' Public Day School Company The Girls' Day School Trust (GDST) is a group of 25 independent schools, including two academies, in England and Wales, catering for girls aged 3 to 18. It is the largest group of independent schools in the UK, and educates 20,000 girls each yea ...

and it opened with 88 pupils. She had grabbed some ivy from the school walls for the girls to wear in their hair to be 'distinctive' at the first girls day schools' company prize giving. She lived (as recorded in the 1811 Census), as head of the household of women (presumably staff) at the school in St. Leonard's Lodge, Wellesly Road. And Neligan became the vice-president of the Association of Headmistresses (of independent girls schools) in 1893. After she retired she took an interest in women's suffrage, in June 1909 going to a protest at the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

. And she had had a silver teapot seized by officials, after she refused to pay local taxes in protest at having no representation. Becoming a member of the

Women's Tax Resistance League The Women's Tax Resistance League (WTRL) was from 1909 to 1918 a direct action group associated with the Women's Freedom League that used tax resistance to protest against the disenfranchisement of women during the British women's suffrage move ...

, her regular 'refusal' behaviour became known in the local press headlines: 'Miss Heligan's Hardy Annual' or 'No Surrender'. She was also said to have been willing to be imprisoned, even if subscribing to the WSPU became illegal, but she never was imprisoned, although she was arrested in 1910.

Black Friday

On 18 November 1910, Neligan joined a deputation led by

Emmeline Pankhurst Emmeline Pankhurst ('' née'' Goulden; 15 July 1858 – 14 June 1928) was an English political activist who organised the UK suffragette movement and helped women win the right to vote. In 1999, ''Time'' named her as one of the 100 Most Impo ...

to petition the Prime Minister Asquith. The delegates included

Hertha Ayrton Phoebe Sarah Hertha Ayrton (28 April 1854 – 26 August 1923) was a British engineer, mathematician, physicist and inventor, and suffragette. Known in adult life as Hertha Ayrton, born Phoebe Sarah Marks, she was awarded the Hughes Medal by the ...

, Dr

Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Elizabeth Garrett Anderson (9 June 1836 – 17 December 1917) was an English physician and suffragist. She was the first woman to qualify in Britain as a physician and surgeon. She was the co-founder of the first hospital staffed by women, ...

, Dr

Louisa Garrett Anderson Louisa Garrett Anderson, CBE (28 July 1873 – 15 November 1943) was a medical pioneer, a member of the Women's Social and Political Union, a suffragette, and social reformer. She was the daughter of the founding medical pioneer Elizabeth Garre ...

Anne Cobden-Sanderson Julia Sarah Anne Cobden-Sanderson (; 26 March 1853 – 2 November 1926) was an English socialist, suffragette and vegetarian. Life Cobden was born in London in 1853 to Catherine Anne and the radical politician Richard Cobden. After her father ...

, and Princess

Sophia Duleep Singh Princess Sophia Alexandrovna Duleep Singh (8 August 1876 – 22 August 1948) was a prominent suffragette in the United Kingdom. Her father was Maharaja Sir Duleep Singh, who had been taken from his kingdom of Punjab to the British Raj, a ...

.Sybil Oldfield, ‘Neligan, Dorinda (1833–1914)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 14 Nov 2017
/ref> The delegation was met by the uniformed police and hooligans (who may have been police in plain clothes). There was evidence of their brutality but the government refused to investigate. The day became known as "Black Friday" There was also evidence that Neligan had assaulted a constable, but no charges were made.

Death and recognition

Neligan died at her home in

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

in 1914, not seeing the result of her efforts, that some women were to get the vote in 1918. Her obituary was published in the ''

Women's Freedom League The Women's Freedom League was an organisation in the United Kingdom which campaigned for women's suffrage and sexual equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access ...

'' (WFL) newspaper, ''The Vote,'' A wreath was sent to her funeral from the WSPU leader,

"With love and remembrance for a brave veteran, whose life was spent in noble work for women and for the race," along with flowers from the local WSPU branch and a wreath from the WFL. A memorial plaque is in

Croydon Minster Croydon Minster is the parish and civic church of the London Borough of Croydon. There are currently more than 35 churches in the borough, with Croydon Minster being the most prominent. It is Grade I and II* listed buildings in Croydon, Grade I l ...

, and at the centenary of (some) women's franchise, the

Croydon Central Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensive ...

M.P., Sarah Jones had described Neligan as one of the women who offer inspiration to young women of today. And the Croydon Museum project created a banner with her name and the Croydon High School ivy logo image, and the words 'Veteran Suffragette'.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neligan, Dorinda 1833 births 1914 deaths Health professionals from County Cork Heads of schools in England Irish suffragists English suffragists English tax resisters Women's Social and Political Union Women's Freedom League Irish nurses Irish schoolteachers