Mary Fleetwood Berry (24 April 1865 – 25 January 1956) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

suffragist Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

who advocated for women's right to vote between 1900–1918. Berry was a member of the

Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbhn ...

Women's Franchise League, and the wife of James Fleetwood Berry,

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of St. Nicholas' Collegiate Church. She was an active member of the

Women's National Health Association The Women's National Health Association (WNHA) was a body set up in Ireland in 1907 with the objective of eliminating, as far as possible, the scourge of tuberculosis, and to bring about a reduction in the high infant mortality rates in Ireland. ...

Early life and education

Mary Fleetwood Berry was born on 24 April 1865 in Monkstown, a suburb of Cork, Ireland, to Abraham Thomas Chatterton and Jane Chatterton of Dublin. In 1887 she married Reverend James Fleetwood Berry of Tullamore, County Offaly, with whom she had one son. Alongside her husband's profession as a minister, she was known for having a strong

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...

Protestant identity. She was elected president of the

Irish Women's Temperance Union Irish Women's Temperance Union was an Irish non-sectarian and non-political organization, founded in Belfast in 1894, for the purpose of promoting temperance among the women of Ireland. Margaret Byers served as its first president. History The Un ...

in 1900 and 1912. She was also an active member of the Connacht Women's Franchise League, one of the most outspoken and public manifestations of women's discontent and radical feminism in Ireland. Its primary goal was to secure

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 ...

within

Irish Home Rule The Irish Home Rule movement was a movement that campaigned for Devolution, self-government (or "home rule") for Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was the dominant political movement of Irish nationalism from 1 ...

. In 1917 Berry's son was killed in action in France from wounds received at Bait Aiesa in

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...

, which is now modern Iraq. She died on 25 January 1956 at the age of 90 years old in Salthill, County Galway, Ireland.

Ideas, influences and political stances

She was elected president of Irish Women's Temperance Union in 1900 and 1912. The

Temperance movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting temperance or complete abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and its leaders emph ...

was a social movement against the consumption of alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements typically criticize alcohol intoxication, promote complete abstinence (teetotalism), or use their political influence to press the government to enact alcohol laws to regulate the availability of alcohol or even its complete prohibition. In January 1913, Mary Fleetwood Berry was instrumental in establishing a branch of the constitutional

Irish Women's Suffrage Federation The Irish Women's Suffrage Federation (IWSF) was an organisation founded in 1911 to unite scattered suffrage societies in Ireland.Peter Gordon: Dictionary of British Women's Organisations 1825-1960 See also * Women's suffrage organizations *Timel ...

, an organisation then linking twenty-six societies nationally. The federation was founded in 1911 to unite scattered suffrage societies in Ireland. The role of Mary Fleetwood Berry, whose political contacts were conservative and religious, represents a shift in influence. With the outbreak of the First World War, Moon, she and many other Galway suffragists became involved in efforts concerning the war, such as fundraising and provisions. In this capacity she attended the first annual meeting of the Galway War Fund Association in Galway town hall on 31 May 1916. The law that changed things for women's right to vote was called the Representation of the People Act, 1918, But not for every woman – just women over 30, who had property rights or a university education. The act also gave the vote to all men over the age of 21. When it was passed, because of the criteria around a ‘property qualification’, this meant that just 40% of all the women in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

could vote. Meanwhile, property and other restrictions for men were actually abolished, and men in the armed forces were allowed to vote from the age of 21. Upon gaining independence from the United Kingdom in 1922, Irish women over the age of 21 had to wait until the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

was drawn up to ensure full and equal voting rights. This happened in 1922 with the Constitution of the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between th ...

Act.

References

* Moran, Gerard P. (1996). Galway: History and Society. Geography Publications. pp. 557–587. {{DEFAULTSORT:Berry, Mary Fleetwood 1865 births 1956 deaths People from County Galway Irish suffragists