Sarah "Venie" Barr (3 October 1875 – 1 November 1947) was an Irish political and community activist.

Life

Sarah "Venie" Barr was born Sarah Moyles in

Abbeyleix Abbeyleix (; ) is a town in County Laois, Ireland, located around south of the county town of Portlaoise. Abbeyleix was formerly located on the N8, the main road from Dublin to Cork. At one point, up to 15,000 vehicles passed along the town' ...

, County Laois, on 3 October 1875. She was the daughter of trader James Moyles and his wife Eliza Jane Moyles (née Pratt). She was an original member of the Ulster Women's Unionist Council (UWUC), serving as member of the standing committee, and appointed the first chief of the Post House Staff of the

Ulster Volunteer Force The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) is an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group. Formed in 1965, it first emerged in 1966. Its first leader was Gusty Spence, a former British Army soldier from Northern Ireland. The group undertook an armed campaig ...

in 1914. At a meeting of South Belfast Women's Association upon the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, she proposed that a fund be created to send gifts to soldiers. This saw the foundation of the Ulster Women's Gift Fund for War Hospital Supplies which sent medicine, food and books to navy and army units as well as hospitals and prisons of war. In November 1918, the fund had raised £119,481. She served as the honorary treasurer of the Gift Fund from 1918, continuing the work of the fund into

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. For her work, Barr was awarded a

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in 1920. Barr was a speaking delegate for the UWUC to the UUC (now

Ulster Unionist Party The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it led unionist opposition to the Irish Home Rule movem ...

), going on to sit as assistant honorary treasurer from 1920 to 1930, honorary treasurer from 1930 to 1947 and vice chair from 1923 to 1925 and 1935 to 1947. Barr also served as the chair of St Anne's Women's Unionist Association from 1918 to 1947. She was the honorary treasurer of the

Girl Guides Association Girlguiding is the operating name of The Guide Association, previously named The Girl Guides Association and is the national guiding organisation of the United Kingdom. It is the UK's largest girl-only youth organisation. Girlguiding is a char ...

. She was also the honorary of the Belfast Council of Social Welfare, and under this capacity she visited Canada in 1930. Barr was the president of

Toc H Toc H (also TH) is an international Christian movement. The name is an abbreviation for Talbot House, "Toc" signifying the letter T in the signals spelling alphabet used by the British Army in World War I. A soldiers' rest and recreation centre ...

Women Helper, Belfast Branch. She married Ainsworth Barr, a stockbroker and international rugby half-back, in 1901. The couple had at least two sons. They lived at Ravenna, Malone Road,

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

, where Sarah Barr died on 1 November 1947. The UWUC inaugurated the Barr memorial cup in 1948, a cup awarded to the branch enjoying the highest percentage of female voters on its registers.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barr, Sarah Venie 1875 births 1947 deaths People from County Laois Irish political people Irish activists 20th-century Irish women