Mother Jones from Cork, Ireland
‘Most Dangerous Woman in America’ in 1900 – 1930’s was from Cork

As we wander though the ancient streets of Cork city we pass the plaque to Mother Jones under the steeple of St Anne’s Church, Shandon. Mary Harris was born in Cork in 1837, baptised in the North Cathedral on August 1st 1837, and her family were tenant farmers driven from the land. Like many Irish her parents were driven from the land and, having found Cork city hard she sailed from Cobh to Toronto when she was a teenager. She summed up her background by saying:-
“For generations they had fought for Ireland’s freedom. Many of my folks died in that struggle. But it was the Great Hunger, not British tyranny or landlords, that sent the Harris family into exile”

She found it difficult to settle in Canada and moved to Memphis, Tennessee in her late teens, where she worked as a dressmaker and married George Jones in 1861. Gorge Jones was a labour organiser in the Iron Moulders’ Union and they had 4 children in 6 years. This was during the U.S. Civil War years, before Yellow Fever arrived in Memphis, which took the lives of her husband and 4 young children. Mother Jones tended to other victims and after the epidemic passed she moved to Chicago where she opened a store and made a living from her dressmaking skills. She became a union activist after her business was burned in the Great Chicago Fire in 1871.
Mother Jones became a union organiser across the country, bringing women and African Americans into the fold and argued loudly against child labour and unsafe working conditions. Mother Jones was a powerful orator and her voice carried a great distance. She dressed in black and carried all her possessions in a shawl. By 1903 she had a reputation for fearlessness and lead a ‘March of the Mill Children’ from Philadelphia to New York City in an attempt to end child labour. The song ‘She’ll Be Coming Round the Mountain When she

Comes’ was written about Mother Jones and her army of women with mops and brooms to fight for civil rights in the US. Mother Jones spent the rest of her life agitating and fighting for the rights of workers. Mother Jones died in 1930 and was buried in the Union Miners Cemetery in Mount Olive, Illinois. given a large funeral in St Gabriel’s Church in Washington DC.
http://www.motherjonescork.com.
Mother Jones is celebrated with an annual ‘Spirit of Mother Jones Festival’ in Cork city’s Shandon area. The 2021 Festival is being held from November 25th to 28th with online access as well as in-person talks.
“Pray for the dead and fight like hell for the living” was her famous phrase.Take a walk with Cork Food History Tours to see where Mother Jones was born and raised.
Shandon area of Cork city
Further links to Mother Jones and the labour movement in the USA here
Mother Jones Museum, Chicago
Mother Jones Museum in Mount Olive , Illinois
United MIne Workers of America
Irish America Magazine article on Mother Jones
Labout HIstory LInks and Walks in USA
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.