Events, Talks & Tours
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Hero of Belfast: Mary Ann McCracken’s Belfast Walking Tour
Experience Mary Ann McCracken’s Belfast, as you walk in the footsteps of this remarkable abolitionist, philanthropist and social reformer. Mary Ann McCracken, who was born over 250 years ago, is intrinsically linked to the city of Belfast. She lived her fearless life championing causes, moving from place to place, always on a mission to make life better for those less fortunate than herself.
This walking tour takes in the locations linked to her life, her endeavours and that of her family. You will be led by an experienced guide through the same streets she walked over 200 years before. This new walking tour starts at Clifton House, where Mary Ann’s thirst for philanthropic causes first began, and where her impact can still be seen today, and finishes near Belfast City Hall.
The walking tour leaves from Clifton House, 2 North Queen St and lasts approximately 2 hours. It includes a complimentary refreshment stop.
Heroines Of Belfast: Mary ann mccracken and martha mctier walking tour
Come and learn about Belfast’s heroines, Mary Ann McCracken and Martha McTier. Listen to stories of how these women supported the United Irishmen, helped the poor through their charitable work, with Belfast’s most turbulent events in history as a backdrop to their stories.
Mary Ann McCracken, who was born over 250 years ago, is intrinsically linked to the city of Belfast. She lived her fearless life championing causes, moving from place to place, always on a mission to make life better for those less fortunate than herself. Martha McTier was an advocate in Belfast for women’s health and education, and a supporter of democratic reform. Her correspondence with her brother William Drennan documents the political radicalism and tumult of late eighteenth-century Ulster.
For availability and to book, click on the link below.
Private Talks & Tours
In addition to our programmed talks and tours, our staff and volunteers can deliver private walking tours on Mary Ann McCracken or Mary Ann and Martha McTier, another remarkable Belfast woman.
We can also deliver talks in Clifton House or at your venue, on a range of topics, many of which include Mary Ann. See below for our latest menu of talk topics.
To organise a private talk or tour, contact us on 028 9099 7022 or email info@cliftonbelfast.org.uk for more information or to book. Group rates are available.
Heroines Of Belfast: Mary ann mccracken and martha mctier walking tour
As part of the work of the Mary Ann McCracken Foundation to tell Mary Ann’s story, Clifton House regularly hosts talks with guest speakers, expert in their fields.
To launch the Foundation we were extremely privileged to have Professor David Olosuga deliver a key note address, where he challenged the audience to think about how to liberate the historical lives and reputations of abolitionists like Mary Ann McCracken from the cause they were championing. ‘We need to change the conversation and place less emphasis on the people themselves and more on what they fought for’, he said.
Since then the Foundation has hosted events with guest speakers Dr Catriona Kennedy, from University of York; Bee Rowlatt, author; Dr Robyn Atcheson, Queen’s University; Dr Lauren Smyth, Queens University and historian at Clifton House; Dr Cathryn Bronwyn McWilliams, University of South Eastern Norway; Baroness May Blood; Liz Griffith, Law Centre NI; Baroness Margaret Ritchie and Vicky Tennant, UNHCR Representative. Not to mention speakers with real lived experience, including from Anaka Women’s Collective, led by women with direct experience of the asylum system.
For upcoming talks, sign up to our newsletter, follow us on social media or visit our events page.
Self Guided Tours
Self-Guided Audio and AR Tour Experience
Past Events
The Mary Ann McCracken Foundation has hosted a number of events since its launch in 2019, to celebrate her legacy and to raise awareness of issues Mary Ann herself would campaign about, if she were alive today. Full recordings of each of these events can be found in the links below.
