Marian Barry (1 October 1871 – 8 September 1921) was an Irish

trade unionist A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and Employee ben ...

. Barry was born at Skibbereen,

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

, a daughter of John and Mary (née Ronan) Barry. She followed her parents into tailoring, and moved to London when she was around twenty years old. There, she joined a union for female tailors, which soon affiliated to the

Women's Trade Union League The Women's Trade Union League (WTUL) (1903–1950) was a U.S. organization of both working class and more well-off women to support the efforts of women to organize labor unions and to eliminate sweatshop conditions. The WTUL played an important ...

. Barry soon became a spokesperson for the league, and was elected as its assistant secretary in 1896. She often attended the London Trades Council, which supported her successful nomination to

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

's technical education board in 1897. Through her trade union work, Barry this met

Pete Curran Peter Francis Curran (28 March 1860 – 14 February 1910) was a British people, British trade unionist and politician. Born Patrick Francis Curran in Glasgow, to a Catholic family of Irish people, Irish origin, Curran became known as "Pete" at ...

, the two marrying in 1897 or 1898, and she thereafter was known as "Mrs Pete Curran". The couple had four children, and Marian withdrew from political activity until 1906 in order to bring them up. In 1906, Barry was appointed as an organiser for the Women's Trade Union League. She founded a branch in

Jarrow Jarrow ( or ) is a town in South Tyneside in the county of Tyne and Wear, England. It is east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is situated on the south bank of the River Tyne, about from the east coast. It is home to the southern portal of the Tyne ...

, where her husband won a by-election, in 1907, a campaign in which Marian was prominent. She campaigned locally for reforms including free school meals, and was elected to the League's executive in 1908. She is believed to have also campaigned for

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

. Pete Curran lost his seat in 1910 and died shortly afterwards. Marian relocated to Hackney, where she was active on the local employment exchange. She died at

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

in 1921.''Justice'', 22 September 1921.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barry, Marian 1871 births 1921 deaths Irish activists Irish women activists Irish trade unionists People from County Cork Women trade unionists