Betty Sinclair
Encyclopedia
Betty Sinclair was an Irish
communist activist.
Born to a Protestant family in the Ardoyne
area of Belfast
, Sinclair became a mill worker and joined the Revolutionary Workers’ Group (RWG) in 1932. In 1933, she was involved in the Outdoor Relief Strike. She then attended the International Lenin School
in Moscow
until 1935.
The RWG established the Communist Party of Ireland
(CPI) in 1933, and Sinclair became a leading member. She was jailed for sedition
in 1941 after an article sympathetic to the Irish Republican Army
appeared in the party newspaper, Unity.
When the all-Ireland CPI dissolved in 1941, Sinclair remained an active member of the Communist Party of Northern Ireland
(CPNI) and served as its Secretary from 1942 to 1945. She stood for the group in Belfast Cromac
at the Northern Ireland general election, 1945, taking almost one third of the votes. In 1947, Sinclair was appointed full-time secretary of the Belfast and District Trades Union Council.
Sinclair was the Trades Council's representative at the talks which founded the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association
(NICRA) in 1967, and she served as the NICRA's chairperson until 1969, when she resigned, claiming that it had become dominated by ultra leftists and was worsening sectarian divisions.
We Shall Overcome
became the anthem of the Civil Rights movement in Northern Ireland. It was first sung at the end of the initial Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association march from Coalisland to Dungannon, County Tyrone on Saturday 24 August 1968. The person to orchestrated and lead the march in singing of this song was a Betty Sinclair.
She stepped down from her trades council post in 1975, and moved to Prague
to work for the World Marxist Review, before returning to Belfast. She died in a fire in her flat in 1981.
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
communist activist.
Born to a Protestant family in the Ardoyne
Ardoyne
Ardoyne is an Irish nationalist, working class and mainly Catholic district in north Belfast, Northern Ireland. It gained notoriety due to the large number of incidents during "The Troubles". It is home to approximately 20,000 inhabitants...
area of Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, Sinclair became a mill worker and joined the Revolutionary Workers’ Group (RWG) in 1932. In 1933, she was involved in the Outdoor Relief Strike. She then attended the International Lenin School
International Lenin School
Situated in Moscow and shrouded in secrecy, the International Lenin School was founded in 1926 as an instrument for the "Bolshevisation" of the Communist International and its national sections, following the resolutions of the fifth Congress of the Comintern. Between 1926 and 1938 the school...
in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
until 1935.
The RWG established the Communist Party of Ireland
Communist Party of Ireland
The Communist Party of Ireland is a small all-Ireland Marxist party, founded in 1933. An earlier party, the Socialist Party of Ireland, was renamed the Communist Party of Ireland in 1921 on its affiliation to the Communist International but was dissolved in 1924. The present-day CPI was founded in...
(CPI) in 1933, and Sinclair became a leading member. She was jailed for sedition
Sedition
In law, sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that is deemed by the legal authority to tend toward insurrection against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent to lawful authority. Sedition may include any...
in 1941 after an article sympathetic to the Irish Republican Army
Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
appeared in the party newspaper, Unity.
When the all-Ireland CPI dissolved in 1941, Sinclair remained an active member of the Communist Party of Northern Ireland
Communist Party of Northern Ireland
The Communist Party of Northern Ireland was a small communist party operating in Northern Ireland. Its origins lay in the 1941 split in the Communist Party of Ireland, which also produced the Irish Workers' Party in the Republic of Ireland...
(CPNI) and served as its Secretary from 1942 to 1945. She stood for the group in Belfast Cromac
Belfast Cromac (Northern Ireland Parliament constituency)
Belfast Cromac was a constituency of the Parliament of Northern Ireland.-Boundaries:Belfast Cromac was a borough constituency comprising part of southern Belfast...
at the Northern Ireland general election, 1945, taking almost one third of the votes. In 1947, Sinclair was appointed full-time secretary of the Belfast and District Trades Union Council.
Sinclair was the Trades Council's representative at the talks which founded the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association
Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association
The Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association was an organisation which campaigned for equal civil rights for the all the people in Northern Ireland during the late 1960s and early 1970s...
(NICRA) in 1967, and she served as the NICRA's chairperson until 1969, when she resigned, claiming that it had become dominated by ultra leftists and was worsening sectarian divisions.
We Shall Overcome
We Shall Overcome
"We Shall Overcome" is a protest song that became a key anthem of the African-American Civil Rights Movement . The title and structure of the song are derived from an early gospel song by African-American composer Charles Albert Tindley...
became the anthem of the Civil Rights movement in Northern Ireland. It was first sung at the end of the initial Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association march from Coalisland to Dungannon, County Tyrone on Saturday 24 August 1968. The person to orchestrated and lead the march in singing of this song was a Betty Sinclair.
She stepped down from her trades council post in 1975, and moved to Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
to work for the World Marxist Review, before returning to Belfast. She died in a fire in her flat in 1981.