June Levine (31 December 1931 – 14 October 2008) was an Irish journalist, novelist and

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

, who played a central part in the Irish women's movement.

Early life and family

Levine was born into a Jewish-Catholic family. Her parents Charles Solomon Levine, the son of Jewish parents who fled from Latvia and Muriel Ruth McMahon from Co Clare secretly got married at a Catholic church in Marlborough Street,

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

at a young age. June, the eldest of five children, was baptised a Catholic and attended a Jewish school in Dublin. In 1947, the family decided to convert to

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

. At the age of 15, Levine began her career in journalism for ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...

'' as a teenager instead of pursuing further education''.'' She met and married Canadian Jewish medical student, Kenneth Mesbur. In the 1950s, the married couple and their two children emigrated to

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada, where they settled, and a third baby was born. The marriage ended and Levine returned to Dublin with her three children. In 1999, June Levine married her partner of thirty years, psychiatrist Professor Ivor Browne.

Career

In 1965, Levine returned to her career in journalism and was elected assistant editor of the ''Irish Woman’s Journal''. She wrote two best selling books, ''Sisters'', a personal history of the feminist movement, and, with Lyn Madden, ''Lyn: A Story of Prostitution''. She was also involved with the Irish women's movement, alongside figures such as

Mary Kenny Mary Kenny (born 4 April 1944) is an Irish journalist, broadcaster and playwright. A founding member of the Irish Women's Liberation Movement, she was one of the country's first and foremost Feminism, feminists, often contributes columns to the ...

, Margaret Gaj and Mary Maher. In 1971 she travelled with other feminists, including Mary Kenny and

Nell McCafferty Ellen Pamela McCafferty (28 March 1944 – 21 August 2024) was an Irish journalist, playwright, civil rights campaigner and feminist. She wrote for ''The Irish Press'', ''The Irish Times'', ''Sunday Tribune'', ''Hot Press'' and ''The Village Vo ...

, on the so-called "

Contraceptive Train The Contraceptive Train was a women's rights activism event which took place on 22 May 1971. Members of the Irish Women's Liberation Movement (IWLM), in protest against the law prohibiting the importation and sale of contraceptives in the Rep ...

" when they travelled to

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

to buy condoms.

Later life

In Levine’s later life, she became interested in India's women's movement. She only wrote one work of fiction, ''A Season of Weddings'', which was published in 1992 and told the tale of a Dublin woman who went to New Delhi for a Jewish wedding.Katie Donovan, A. N. Jeffares & Brendan Kennelly, eds., Ireland’s Women (Dublin: Gill & Macmillan 1994), quotes Sisters: The Personal Story of an Irish Feminist (1982; Poolbeg 1985). Levine had a number of strokes in her last year, which impacted her speech. Having regained some ability to communicate, she experienced a second stroke in the first week of October, lost consciousness, and died on 14 October 2008 in Tallaght Hospital. In 2009 Attic Press reissued her book Sisters with a preface written by Levine's friend Nell McCafferty.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Levine, June 1931 births 2008 deaths 20th-century Irish women writers 21st-century Irish women writers Irish birth control activists Irish feminists Irish women's rights activists Writers from County Dublin 20th-century Irish Jews 21st-century Irish Jews