Mary Ann McCracken VIRTUAL Virtual Cache

The Statue here of MARY ANN McCRACKEN was unveiled on 8th March 2024, which appropriately was International Women’s Day, and more than 150 years after her death this extraordinary Belfast woman has finally received the recognition she deserves.

She is one of many ‘forgotten’ women in history. Until recently, she was mostly referenced as ‘the sister of Henry Joy McCracken ’, a founding member of the United Irishmen . Her grave remained unmarked until 1909 when Henry’s alleged remains were placed in her grave at Clifton Street Cemetery and an inscription was added that she ‘wept by her brother’s scaffold’.

The Statue of Mary Ann McCracken (1770 – 1866)
in front of Belfast City Hall

Mary Ann witnessed the influence of the American, French, and industrial revolutions on the radicalisation of workers at the time in Belfast. After reading Wollstonecraft’s ‘Vindication on the Rights of Women’ she initiated political thinking and understanding in women’s groups across Ireland. However, she deplored the separate female societies and clubs. No women, she believed, with “rational ideas of liberty and equality for themselves” could consent to a separate organisation.

In the 1790s, following their mother's example, Mary Ann and her sister Margaret started a small business that pioneered the production of patterned and checked muslin. Initially a small-scale operation employing workers in their own homes, by 1809 having gathered and taught a number of young women to work at the tambour frame it had moved into factory production.

In 1815, amidst the post-war collapse in demand, they were obliged to close. But during earlier downturns in trade, the sisters had distinguished themselves as employers by refusing to cut costs at the expense of their employees. Mary Ann "could not think of dismissing our workers, because nobody would give them employment". The "sphere of woman's industry", she complained, "is so confined, and so few roads open to her, and those so thorny".

She was also a lifelong and active abolitionist. Stating that there is “no argument produced in favour of the slavery of women that has not been used in favour of general slavery”, she links her commitment to the end of slavery with her commitment to the equality of women.

The motto of this remarkable woman, which accurately sums up her character, was that it is ‘better to wear out than to rust out’. From standing at Belfast harbour aged 88 handing out abolitionist leaflets to Irish emigrants, to fighting for female equality in a male dominated society – Mary Ann McCracken was unquestionably a woman ahead of her time.

TO LOG THIS VIRTUAL CACHE

You MUST take a photo of YOUR Geo-Tag … CACHING NAME … at the time of your visit and NOT subsequently added in ... with the statue of Mary Ann McCracken clearly visible in the background. This photo must then be attached to your FOUND log.

When you take your 'Qualifying Photo', your Geo-Tag MUST be clearly LEGIBLE in the photo, otherwise your claim of a FIND here may not be accepted.

If you don’t attach a photo to your log as described above, it’s a ‘NO FIND’, and your log will be DELETED! A photo of you beside the statue is not enough, you MUST have your Geo-Tag in the photo, with or without you!

If you are in any doubt as to what is needed for a valid find here, see the attached spoiler photo.

This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between January 17, 2024 and January 17, 2025. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. You can learn more about Virtual Rewards 4.0 on the Geocaching Blog.