# Marie Johnson (suffragist)

Marie Annie Johnson (née Tregay; 24 December 1874 – 12 July 1974), was an Irish trade unionist, suffragist and teacher.

## Personal life

Johnson was born in Truro, Cornwall, on 24 December 1874. Her father was James Tregay, a miner, who was blinded as a young man and ended up becoming a basket weaver. He believed in Irish home rule. Johnson was educated in Whitelands College in Chelsea, London, qualifying in 1894 as a teacher. She went to work in St. Multose's National school, Kinsale. There she met Thomas Johnson. She married him in Liverpool in 1898. He had worked in Kinsale where he met Johnson but went on to take a job that moved him with his family to Belfast. They had one son, actor Thomas James Frederick Johnson, in 1899. Both of them became involved in trade unionism. Her husband went on to become the leader of the Irish Labour Party, a TD and a Senator.

## Activism

Together the couple worked to unionise the Belfast Mill Workers. Johnson worked closely with Winifred Carney and introduced her to James Connolly. She had been secretary of the Textile Workers' Union, but when she became ill she recommended Carney for the role. Later she became the leader of the Irish Women Workers' Union. She was an enthusiastic supporter of the Women's Social and Political Union. When Carney stood for election as a Sinn Féin candidate, Johnson was part of her campaign executive. In 1913, Johnson was active fundraising to support the victims of the Dublin lock-out. She was involved in the peace negotiations of the Irish Civil War. Johnson represented Ireland during the 4th congress of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom in Washington in 1924, where she was able to present to Congress that Ireland had universal suffrage. In 1925, Johnson became the first Labour woman elected to local government, when she was elected to the Rathmines Urban Council.
She died in a home in Howth, Co. Dublin, but not before she created an account of her connection with the suffrage movement, which is housed in the National Library.

## References and sources

* 1 2 3 4 5 O'Riordan, Turlough; Frances, Frances (2009). "Johnson, Marie". In McGuire, James; Quinn, James (eds.). Dictionary of Irish Biography. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
* ↑ Kate Newmann. "The Dictionary of Ulster Biography". The Dictionary of Ulster Biography. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
* ↑ Ryan, L.; Ward, M. (2018). Irish Women and the Vote: Becoming Citizens, New Edition. Irish Academic Press. p. 301. ISBN 978-1-78855-015-4. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
* ↑ Bose, P. (2003). Organizing Empire: Individualism, Collective Agency, and India. Organizing Empire: Individualism, Collective Agency, and India. Duke University Press. p. 94. ISBN 978-0-8223-2768-4. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
* ↑ Powell, F. (2017). The political economy of the Irish welfare state: Church, state and capital. Policy Press. p. 59. ISBN 978-1-4473-3292-3. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
* ↑ Owens, R.C. (2005). A Social History of Women in Ireland, 1870â€"1970: An Exploration of the Changing Role and Status of Women in Irish Society. EBL-Schweitzer. Gill Books. p. 134. ISBN 978-0-7171-6455-4. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
* ↑ Ward, Margaret. "The Women of Belfast Cumann na mBan Easter Week and After" (PDF).
* ↑ Margaret Ward. Celebrating Belfast women:a city guide through women's eyes. Women’s Resource and Development Agency.
* ↑ Missing Pieces: Women in Irish History. Women's community press. 1983.
* ↑ Desmond, Barry; Callan, Charles (9 August 2019). "William Norton (1900-1963): An Unsung Trade Union & Labour Leader". Communications Workers' Union. Retrieved 31 August 2019.