THE stories of some remarkable women from north Belfast who have been written out of history or overshadowed because of their gender are to be remembered to mark International Women's Day.
The Mary Ann McCracken Foundation will next week give women from history a voice as part of a virtual talk on March 8.
The initiative, in conjunction with the Great Place North Belfast project, aims to begin to address this imbalance, by telling the stories of women who "made significant contributions to the social, political and cultural fabric of north Belfast".
Norma Sinte, chair of the Mary Ann McCracken Foundation, said that the "achievements of women in the 18th and 19th century were not documented in records or in newspapers in the same way as men".
"Historians are only now uncovering the amazingly talented female poets, musicians and composers whose work would have rivalled their male counterparts of their time," she said.
"This same fate also fell upon female campaigners and abolitionists, like Mary Ann McCracken, who were only acknowledged in history because of their relationship with men.
"In Mary’s case, she was overshadowed for many years by her brother, United Irishman Henry Joy McCracken.
"It only seems right therefore to use opportunities like International Women’s Day to give women like Mary Ann McCracken a voice again, and to give her story the prominence it deserves after all these years."
A virtual talk on March 8 will explore how Mary Ann McCracken’s story has been written throughout the years.
It will look back at her first biography in the late 1800s, as well as Mary McNeill’s seminal text on her life and the most recent publication by John Gray.
Paula Reynolds, chief executive of the Belfast Charitable Society, said: "In recent decades, historians have started the process of rectifying gender bias and omissions in historical writing.
"Our Great Place: Great Women project also aims to begin to address this imbalance, by telling the stories of some remarkable women who have made significant contributions to the social, political and cultural fabric of north Belfast.
"With ‘Great Women’, we aim to place women at the centre of their own stories and not simply recount their achievements through their connections to male contemporaries."
To register for the talk, please visit https://cliftonbelfast.com/whats-on/
