Leonora O'Reilly
| Leonora O’Reilly | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born | February 16, 1870 New York City |
| Died | April 3, 1927 Brooklyn, New York City |
| Occupation | Labor leader |
| Children | Alice O'Reilly (Adopted 1907, Died 1911) |
| Parent(s) | John O'Reilly (father), Winifred (Rooney) O'Reilly (mother) |
Leonora O’Reilly (February 16, 1870 - April 3, 1927) was an American feminist, suffragist, and trade union organizer. O'Reilly was born in New York state, raised in the Lower East Side of New York City. She was born into a working-class family and left school at the age of eleven to begin working under a sewing instructor. Leonora O’Reilly’s parents were Irish immigrants escaping the Potato Famine; her father, John, was a printer and a grocer and died while Leonora was the age of one, forcing her mother, Winifred Rooney O’Reilly, to work more hours as a garment worker in order to support Leonora and her younger brother.
O’Reilly worked from 1903-1915 an organizer and recruiter for the Women’s Trade Union League (WTUL). O’Reilly was well documented for her volunteerism and her paid labor related to her political activism; she was paid for writing magazine articles and for printing her opinions in newspapers. On the streets of New York, O’Reilly spoke in public for labor reform and women’s suffrage; her skills enabled her to represent women in a Senate Committee on Suffrage as well as in various public meeting halls.
O’Reilly as a public speaker was thought to be out of place for women at this time in New York’s history. Some historians claim that city residents would often question O'Reilly's and the few paid women public speakers’ feminine essence, as if their profession exclusively required male labor. O'Reilly promoted assertive actions that went against contemporary social norms, sparked change, and made room for more women to rise up in O’Reilly’s wake.
Leonora O'Reilly was the daughter of John O'Reilly, a printer and member of the Knights of Labor, and Winifred (Rooney) O'Reilly, an Irish-born dressmaker. John O'Reilly died when Leonora was one year old. Upon his death, Winifred O'Reilly supported herself and the child by sewing and taking in boarders.
O'Reilly accompanied her mother to meetings at Cooper Union and her father's friend, Victor Drury, helped instill in her an appreciation for the Italian nationalist Mazzini. O'Reilly counted among her influences radical Catholic priest and social justice advocate Fr. Edward McGlynn and anarchist Peter Kropotkin.
Leonora and Winifred O'Reilly both made their home in Brooklyn.
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