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1912-1914

Shared History - Different Allegiances

D E C A D E of C E N T E N A R I E S

Spring events programme, February to April 2013

www.belfastcity.gov.uk/centenaries

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Introduction

We are currently journeying through a decade of key historical moments that shaped the history of Northern Ireland and Ireland a century ago. The period from 1912-1922 witnessed some dramatic changes. Now, one hundred years on, we are taking time to explore some of the significant events in more detail.

This season, we’ll be examining the role of women and the campaign for female suffrage through talks, dramatic readings and much more.

We’ll look at the rise of the labour movement and the role of the trade unions later this year.

The exhibition we commissioned and staged to cover the period from 1912-1914 will be on loan from 1 March 2013 to Ballymena Borough Council. Copies of the panels relating to the role of women and the campaign for female suffrage together with the labour movement will be on display in the City Hall during the next few months to complement this programme.

If you would like to attend any of these events and have additional requirements please contact us in advance.

City Hall events please contact Marie on 028 9027 0663 Ulster Hall events please contact Cathryn on 028 9033 4471

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City Hall events

Thursday 21 February, 7.15pmProgramme launch and talk by Dr Olwen Purdue and Brenda CollinsAn illustrated talk on the role of women at the time 1912-1914, including those in domestic service and those who worked in the linen mills of Belfast.

Tuesday 26 February, 7.15pmPrison, Protests and Hunger Strikes - how Ulster women fought for the voteThe campaign for women’s right to vote reached its peak when Ireland was on the brink of civil war over the Home Rule crisis. In Ulster there were around 1,000 members in 20 different suffrage organisations. Dr Myrtle Hill and Dr Margaret Ward will present an illustrated talk, revealing the excitement and complexities of a time when women across the world were claiming their right to be citizens.

Thursday 14 March, 7.15pmShrieking Sisters: A dramatic rehearsed reading based on local archive material on the suffragette movement in Northern Ireland Written by Maggie Cronin and Carol Moore, performed by Maggie Cronin, Laura Hughes and Carol Moore. On 1 August 1914 a group of suffragettes, led by Mrs Lilian Metge attempted to blow up Lisburn Cathedral. What made a respectable middle class supporter of women’s rights resort to active militancy? Using a mix of new writing, original source and related material, Shrieking Sisters envisages characters and events around the Ulster Suffrage Movement between 1912 and 1914 and their struggle for votes for women.

Wednesday 20 March, 7.15pmRehearsed reading of Lay Up your Ends written by Martin Lynch and Charabanc Theatre Company and directed by Carol MooreA play rooted in the history, culture and politics of the Belfast mills. Set in 1911 and centred on the famous Mill Girls’ strike, the play evokes a Belfast at the peak of its prosperity and industrial growth. The strike was fuelled by harsh working conditions but the immediate cause was the reduction of working hours and therefore a reduction in wages. The play follows the lives of five women from York Street mill during the strike and how they were eventually forced through a lack of strike funds to return to work. Unionisation though shortly followed.

Free tickets are available for all City Hall events from the Belfast Welcome Centre. Phone 028 9024 6609 or call into the Welcome Centre at 47 Donegall Place, Belfast.

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General events

Friday 8 March, 12.30pm International Women’s Day Rally followed by Lord Mayor’s reception for the women’s sectorThis annual International Women’s Day rally will leave from the Art College at 12.30pm and walk through the city streets with singers, dancers and colourful banners culminating in a welcome from the Lord Mayor at Belfast City Hall. This year the theme of ‘commemoration and celebration’ will see some women dressed as suffragettes. Everyone is welcome on this rally.

Saturday 9, Friday 15, Monday 18 and Thursday 28 March, 1-3pm Celebrating Belfast women - HERitage tours!The HERitage Bus Tour celebrates the valuable and diverse contribution that women have made to the city of Belfast. Among other things, you will learn about:

• the ‘millies’ and the struggles of the women in the linen mills and weaving factories during the time of Belfast’s ‘Linenopolis’;

• the women imprisoned in Crumlin Road jail because of their fight for women’s right to vote;

• educational pioneers; • anti-slavery campaigns; • trade union and political activists; • singers, writers and community workers of the time.

As the tour moves through the streets, the tour guide will bring to life the rich historical heritage of women’s contribution to political and community life. Each participant will receive an information-packed tour booklet produced by the Women’s resource and development Agency and funded by the Lottery Heritage Fund.

This is a free tour but booking is essential. For further details please contact Helen at Women’sTec on 028 9074 9810.

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Monday 18 February, 2.30pmBedford Street Book Group: Barbara Trapido, Frankie and StankieEnjoy an hour of discussion, debate and bookish talk at the Ulster Hall. This season, in partnership with Decade of Centenaries commemoration of the Suffragette Movement, we’ll be reading books by women about women.

Please read the book in advance. Free event but please book your ticket (email carsonjan@belfastcity.gov.uk).

Sunday 24 February 10.30amBreakfast Club: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)A rare opportunity to watch this classic film over a continental breakfast in the Ulster Hall’s Group Space.

Please book tickets (£8 per person).

Ulster Hall events

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International Women’s Day at the Ulster Hall

Friday 8 March 10am-12pm, Writing from the PastUsing archive material this facilitator-led workshop will allow participants to create a piece of work about one of the amazing women who helped to shape our city.

2.30pm-3.30pm, Drum workshop: African Song and Drum workshop hosted by Beyond SkinJoin Donna, a musician, teacher, and mother from Uganda as she takes you out of Belfast and transports you to Africa through music, song and storytelling. Educational, therapeutic and great fun. Anyone can join in, musician or not.

2.30pm-3.30pm, Special Bedford Street Book ClubJoin the BSBC for tea, cake and bookish chat about the Grand Dame of Crime Fiction as they discuss Agatha Christie’s classic Miss Marple adventure, A Murder Is Announced.

10am-12pm, Photography in Response This workshop will allow participants to engage with the themes raised by our IWD photography exhibition by local artist Joanne Mullin, exploring the spaces contemporary women inhabit and responding by taking their own photos.

12pm-12.45pm, Free guided tour of the Ulster Hall

1pm- 2pm, Soul Ambition Sofa Session Tracy Dempsey presents a bite-sized slice of the best in female-driven music, art and spoken word.

All International Women’s Day events are free. Sofa sessions (1-2pm) is unticketed and does not require booking. Please book your tickets for all other events (email Jan Carson at carsonjan@belfastcity.gov.uk).

4pm-5pm, A short lecture by Dr Olwen Purdue of QUBThis lecture addresses the role of women in turn of the century Belfast.

5.30pm-6.30pm, All you can do is ask?A question and answers session with a panel of women representing various cultures, facilitated by Beyond Skin. This will be a unique opportunity to share questions and answers with women from around the world about their traditions, religions, beliefs and values.

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Ulster Hall events

Thursday 21 March, 7.30pmI’ll Tell My MaThis two-act play following the adventures and misadventures of four generations of West Belfast women. Written and performed by Patricia Gormley Directed by Christina Nelson.

Free event but please book your ticket.

Monday 25 March, 2.30pmBedford Street Book Group: Zoe Heller, Notes on a Scandal

Enjoy an hour of discussion, debate and bookish talk at the Ulster Hall. This season, in partnership with Decade of Centenaries commemoration of the Suffragette Movement, we’ll be reading books by women about women. Please read the book in advance.

Free event but please book your ticket (email carsonjan@belfastcity.gov.uk).

Tuesday 12 March, 7.30pmJoan of ArcAn evening of world-class cinema and incredible live music in an authentic 1920s setting! This unmissable screening of Carl Theodor Dreyer’s much-celebrated 1928 movie is accompanied by a live score on the world-renowned Mulholland Grand Organ, performed by acclaimed organist, Martin Baker. Get in the mood for the movie with Cinemaschine’s short film, The Lighthouse Keepers, a 1923 maritime melodrama set in Whitehead in 2012. Dress for the occasion in 1920s style.

(£10 per person, £8 concession).

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Wednesday 27 March, 1pmLiterary Lunchtime: Women’s HourAs part of the Decade of Centenaries’ commemoration of the Suffragette movement the Ulster Hall is delighted to present a showcase of music, theatre and poetry by three amazing Belfast women. Award-winning poet, Sinead Morrissey is the author of four collections and lectures in Creative Writing at the Seamus Heaney Centre, QUB. Mary-Frances Doherty is a Belfast-based actress and theatre-maker, well-known and respected for her innovative and engaging theatre pieces. Women’s Hour will also feature live music from one of Belfast’s most exciting female performers, to be announced.

Please book tickets (£4 per person).

Monday 15 April, 2.30pmBedford Street Book Group: Barbara Kingsolver, The Poisonwood BibleEnjoy an hour of discussion, debate and bookish talk at the Ulster Hall. This season, in partnership with Decade of Centenaries commemoration of the Suffragette Movement, we’ll be reading books by women about women.

Please read the book in advance. Free event but please book your ticket (email carsonjan@belfastcity.gov.uk).

Tickets are available for events from the Ulster Hall Box Office at 028 9033 4455 or www.ulsterhall.co.uk

www.belfastcity.gov.uk/centenaries

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