Winifred Carney's Medal

1916 Service Medal

Winifred Carney (1887- 1943) was a republican, feminist, and trade unionist from Bangor, Co. Down. As an Irish Citizen Army member, she acted as Connolly’s secretary in the General Post Office during the 1916 Rising. She was the only woman in the column that seized the GPO on Easter Monday, 24 April. She refused to leave when other women were being evacuated. After the surrender (29th April) she was imprisoned. Once released, she moved to Belfast. Her husband George McBride (1898-1988) came from a Protestant unionist background. A former Ulster Volunteer Force member who fought in the war, he was a trade unionist and socialist. Carney devoted her time to trade union work and politics until she died in 1943. McBride petitioned for this service medal to be awarded posthumously to his wife.

Object number: HE:2023.7.1

More Information:
The Dictionary of Irish Biography Entry: https://www.dib.ie/biography/carney-winifred-winnie-a1489 [Accessed 23/4/3025]
BBC project ‘Voices 16’: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/19ytB8NQdgzxg95sDMdDhb2/winifred-carney [Accessed 23/4/2025]