May O'Callaghan (14 August 1881 – 1973) known to many as O'C was a suffragette and communist.

Life

Julia Mary 'May' O'Callaghan was born on 14 August 1881 in

Wexford Wexford ( ; archaic Yola dialect, Yola: ''Weiseforthe'') is the county town of County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the ...

, Ireland, the youngest of four children to Catholics Julia and Patrick O'Callaghan. The family moved to Ballinsesker soon after she was born. Her father worked as a Head Constable in the

Royal Irish Constabulary The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC, ; simply called the Irish Constabulary 1836–67) was the police force in Ireland from 1822 until 1922, when all of the island was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom. A sep ...

and her parents encouraged her interest in education. She studied Modern Languages at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

, following an older sister to the city. Between 1901 and 1914 taught English and gave lectures on the

Irish Literary Revival The Irish Literary Revival (also called the Irish Literary Renaissance, sometimes nicknamed the Celtic Twilight though this has a broader meaning) was a flowering of Irish literary talent in the late 19th and early 20th century. It includes wor ...

. In 1916 she was writing letters on behalf of East London Federation of Suffragettes. This was a socialist suffragette organisation that broke away from

Women's Social and Political Union The Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) was a women-only political movement and leading militant organisation campaigning for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom founded in 1903. Known from 1906 as the suffragettes, its membership and p ...

. During this time she shared a flat with sisters Nellie and

Rose Cohen Rose Cohen (; 20 May 1894 – 28 November 1937) was an English feminist, suffragist, and founding member of the Communist Party of Great Britain in 1920. She worked for Communist International (Comintern) from 1920 to 1929. Between 1931 and 1 ...

, and

Daisy Lansbury Daisy Postgate (''née'' Lansbury, 9 December 1892 – 20 April 1971) was a British political activist. Early life Born in Bow, London, she was the sixth child of George and Bessie Lansbury. When she was born, the family were living in pover ...

. Along with Nellie Cohen, between 1919 and 1921 she ran the office of the People's Russian Information Bureau (established by

Sylvia Pankhurst Estelle Sylvia Pankhurst (; 5 May 1882 – 27 September 1960) was an English Feminism, feminist and Socialism, socialist activist and writer. Following encounters with women-led labour activism in the United States, she worked to organise worki ...

). She was also working as the sub-editor of the '' Worker's Dreadnought'' at this time. In 1919 the

Communist Party (British Section of the Third International) The Communist Party (British Section of the Third International) was a Left Communist organisation established at an emergency conference held on 19–20 June 1920 at the International Socialist Club in London. It comprised about 600 people. H ...

was founded in the flat that she shared with Nellie Cohen and

. In 1924 she travelled to Moscow where she stayed until 1928 and worked in the Translation Section of the

Comintern The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern and also known as the Third International, was a political international which existed from 1919 to 1943 and advocated world communism. Emerging from the collapse of the Second Internatio ...

Press Department. She lived in

Hotel Lux The former Hotel Lux in Moscow Hotel Lux (Люксъ) was a hotel in Moscow during the Soviet Union, housing many leading exiled and visiting Communists. During the Nazi era, exiles from all over Europe went there, particularly from Germany. A ...

during this time.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:OCallaghan, May 1881 births 1973 deaths 20th-century Irish women writers Irish communists Irish suffragists Irish socialist feminists People from Wexford, County Wexford