Winifred Carney (1887 – 1943) - Suffragist, Trade Unionist, Activist
Winifred was born in Bangor on December 4th of 1817 to parents Alfred Carney and Sarah Cassidy.
She was an Irish revolutionary who fought with James Connolly and Patrick Pearse at the General Post Office in Dublin during the Rising on 1916.
Winifred was initially the only woman in the GPO. Between dispatching orders from Pearse and Connolly she fought the British off with a revolver. She was a part of the breakout group from the GPO that fought their way to Moore Street where Pearse eventually surrendered.
After the surrender, Winifred was send to Kilmainham Gaol and later Mountjoy Prison. She was released only after the executions of the main leaders. Winifred later fought for the anti-treaty faction during the Irish Civil War.
Winifred was a member of Sinn Féin, a trade unionist and a leading figure in the Irish Suffragist movement. She died in Belfast in 1943 and is buried in Milltown Cemetery. Today we remember Winifred and all the other Cumann na mBan volunteers of 1916 who fought valiantly so Ireland could be free from British tyranny.