The streets of London are strewn with stories of Irish emigrants who left their mark in some shape or form. They say the Irish labourers built the Tube and motorways throughout the 20th century, but how times have changed. This tale of differing generations was on full display here on a crisp Wednesday evening as an important plaque was unveiled to a largely forgotten figure in Anglo-Irish history.
Seán Mulryan is the main man at Ballymore Homes and is responsible for an extraordinary number of the skyscrapers all around the city, but particularly in Nine Elms near Battersea. It was there that I found myself this week as a small but enthusiastic group gathered to commemorate Charlotte Despard, who lived in the area between 1890 and 1922. Known as ‘The Mother of Battersea’, Charlotte was a suffragette and social activist who set up soup kitchens and a health clinic for the impoverished of the area.
Her brother was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland but that didn’t stop Charlotte campaigning among prominent Irish nationalists of the time while promoting women’s right to vote. She died in 1939 at the age of 95 and is buried in the Republican Plot in Glasnevin Cemetery. When he heard this story, Seán Mulryan was keen to commemorate Charlotte, and thanks to Jeanne Rathbone, it came to pass.
Seán has form in this department as he funded the beautiful statue of aviators Alcock and Brown hat stands proudly in the centre of Clifden in Co. Galway. On Wednesday, former president (.
