Ruth Taillon

Ruth Taillon is a socialist feminist, activist, writer, researcher, and academic who has spent her 35-year career campaigning for political, social, and economic justice, and women’s rights. Originally from Canada, she moved to Belfast in the 1980s with an interest in Northern Ireland’s political situation. It was here she first became involved in the Armagh Committee and campaigned for the rights of women prisoners. Later, she joined the trade union movement, seeking to improve the working lives and conditions of women. Her involvement in feminist activities continued into the late 1980s and early 1990s when she joined the Women’s Support Network and fought for funding to enable women’s centres across Northern Ireland to stay open. By 1993, Ruth Taillon became a Development Officer at the West Belfast Economic Forum before being promoted to the position of Director. Her role involved community development, and she conducted and published research highlighting the social issues and need for improvement in deprived areas of West Belfast. As well as her interest in social justice and human rights, Ruth is a keen women’s history enthusiast, and was pivotal in setting up the Mary Ann McCracken Historical Society. In 1996, she published her book The Women of 1916: When History Was Made. A second edition of the book was released in 2018. To date, Ruth continues to reside in Northern Ireland and has been the Director at the Centre for Cross Border Studies since 2013.

This archive has been generously donated by Ruth Taillon and consists of items and ephemera relating to the Mary Ann McCracken Historical Society, and reports and social policy documents on the women’s sector in Northern Ireland.