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Crumlin Road Gaol in north Belfast is now a popular tourist venue.

It closed its doors as a working gaol more than a decade ago, but when the war started in 1914 a group of four suffragettes were imprisoned there.

These respectable middle-class ladies were charged with attempting to blow up Lisburn Cathedral! All were members of the 'Women's Social and Political Union', led by Emmeline Pankhurst.

There were 16 suffrage related incidents in Ulster (largely in Belfast and the surrounding areas) and 13 arrests between March and 1 August 1914. Seven women in total were sent to Crumlin Road Gaol.

The women's activities were aimed specifically at the Ulster Unionists. The party had reneged on the promise of votes for women in any Ulster government that would break away from Home Rule (the establishment of a devolved Irish parliament in Dublin).

The suffragettes targeted bastions of male power and enjoyment - churches and race courses as well as golf, tennis and bowling clubs. They left written messages like 'Justice and fair play for women, or militancy must forge ahead' and 'We come not to bring peace but a sword'.

As war was declared, Christabel Pankhurst called on women to postpone their struggle and support the fight against Germany. This was to the consternation of many suffragettes who did not support the war and who felt their fight for the vote should continue.

The four women in Crumlin Road Gaol were divided in their opinions, but the charges against them were dropped as a result of a government amnesty.

Dr Margaret Ward has studied the suffrage movement in Ireland.

Location: Crumlin Road Gaol, Belfast, BT14 6ST
Image of Crumlin Road Gaol circa 1900
Photograph courtesy of Crumlin Road

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