Mary Ann McCracken

Mary Ann McCracken (1770 - 1866) was a woman ahead of her time and one of the under-appreciated heroes of nineteenth-century Belfast. Many today still haven’t heard of her but that is slowly changing, she’s starting to be recognised for the incredible work she did for the town of Belfast in her lifetime and is now memorialised in the grounds of Belfast City Hall with a statue. 

Mary Ann was a social reformer and grew up in a liberal Presbyterian family. Along with her five siblings, Mary Ann attended church and a co-educational school run by David Manson where girls were taught as equals. 

Her more famous brother Henry Joy McCracken was involved in the United Irishmen rising of 1798, taking a leading role in the Battle of Antrim. He was captured and executed for his role in the rebellion. For many years, Mary Ann was cast as the devoted sister but actually, she was so much more than just the sister of a Belfast hero. 

Mary Ann herself was involved in many political and philanthropic causes in Belfast throughout her long life and, along with her sister Margaret, ran a small manufacturing business from 1790 to 1815. Among the causes she championed was the abolition of slavery, the improvement of prison conditions, extending education, abolishing the use of small boys as chimney sweeps, cruelty to animals and equality for women. 

Bust of Mary Ann McCracken on display at Clifton House, Belfast

I first came across Mary Ann due to her work for the poor of Belfast, starting with her relationship with the Poorhouse. The Poorhouse of the Belfast Charitable Society opened in 1774 and, due to her uncles Robert and Henry Joy’s involvement, Mary Ann grew up visiting the Poorhouse. In 1814 a small ladies’ committee was formed but this didn’t last very long and seems to have stopped formally meeting after two years. In that short period, the ladies made many, many suggestions to the male general committee - could it be that the men were just not ready for a group of ladies telling them how to improve the Poorhouse? 

The ladies committee was revived and formalised in 1827 (the men took a week to consider this) and, of course, Mary Ann was involved in both these iterations. Mary Ann was a leading character of the committee, taking over as secretary in 1832. Her efforts really show through the minutes of the ladies’ committee, stressing the need for cleanliness and hygiene, pushing for better education for the children in the house and particularly in caring for the girls and preparing them for their futures. In 1836 the Charitable Society’s main committee commented on ladies “still indefatigable in their exertions” in their efforts to teach the most industrious girls different kinds of needlework.

In October 1838 the minute books noted “Notwithstanding the [little] attention that is in general paid to the suggestions of the ladies, they consider it their duty to persevere.”

Mary Ann was also President of the Committee of the Ladies’ Industrial School for the Relief of Irish Destitution, established in 1847 at the height of the famine. This was a continuation of her interest in assisting the poor children of Belfast and in ensuring that all children had access to an education. Alongside her work in the committee rooms of such charities, Mary Ann was constantly walking around Belfast collecting money for these causes, even when she was an elderly woman being chastised for her over-exertion.

Mary Ann’s enlightenment philosophies did not just end with her philanthropic efforts, or even with her attempts to ensure her employees had adequate wages and conditions, but also in her personal life. After her brother’s execution, Mary Ann took in Henry’s illegitimate daughter Maria and cared for her for the rest of her life, even though some of her other siblings disapproved. Her stance against slavery led to her abstaining from eating sugar as well as handing out abolitionist leaflets around Belfast harbour. 

Photograph of Mary Ann later in her life

Mary Ann died in 1866 at the age of 96. She was buried in Clifton Street cemetery, her grave remaining unmarked until 1909. Her brother’s remains were reburied with her and the headstone reminds us of her role as a “beloved sister”. Hopefully, with the new statue in the grounds of City Hall, the other aspects of this remarkable woman’s life will also be remembered.

Further reading: 

Mary McNeill, The life and times of Mary Ann McCracken: a Belfast panorama (Belfast, 1960).

Cathryn McWilliams, “‘The moving spirit’: Traversing Mary Ann McCracken’s Belfast” in Olwen Purdue (ed.) The first great charity of this town: Belfast Charitable Society and its role in the developing city (Newbridge, 2022), pp 218 - 238.

Clifton House website https://cliftonbelfast.com/mary-ann-mccracken-1770-1866-faithful-until-death/ 

Mary Ann McCracken Foundation https://maryannmccrackenfoundation.org/