Mary Harris “Mother” Jones and Elizabeth Gurley Flynn: Radical Women of the Irish Diaspora

This chapter presents Mary Harris “Mother” Jones (1837–1930) and Elizabeth Gurley Flynn (1890–1964) as articulators of a radical expression of the Irish Famine diaspora experience. Both women presented themselves as Irish-American rebels and rejected the conservative path of Irish assimilation in American society. Class and political experiences launched them into participation in a collective rebellion centered on labor struggles. They sustained their radical voice despite political repression and conservative institutional forces that tamed the labor movement, and especially male Irish trade unionists. The source documents illustrate their commitment to a multi-ethnic working-class movement that rejected capitalist hierarchies. Both women writers used their Irish identity to broaden the perspective of working-class movements.