15 Facts About Helen Chenevix

Helen Sophia Chenevix was an Irish suffragist and trade unionist.

Helen Chenevix was active in the International League for Peace and Freedom and the Irish Pacifist Movement.

Helen Sophia Chenevix was born on 13 November 1886 in Blackrock, County Dublin, and was the daughter of Henry Chenevix, a Bishop in The Church of Ireland and possibly a descendant of the Irish chemist Richard Chenevix.

Helen Chenevix attended Alexandra College in Milltown in Dublin, where fellow suffragist and partner Louie Bennett had obtained her education twenty years previously.

Helen Chenevix became interested and immersed in the suffragette movement and was a key member in the Irish Women's Suffrage Federation.

Helen Chenevix was the only child of her parents, Henry and Sophia.

Helen Chenevix was still living with her parents in the family home in Dublin when she founded the Irish Women's Suffrage Federation with Bennett.

In Pax et Libertas, Helen Chenevix wrote that Bennett was "the best loved woman in Dublin" and "Peace and Freedom were here twin ideals".

Helen Chenevix believed the school leaving age should be raised to 16 years of age and campaigned for this to be changed in the 1920s.

Helen Chenevix understood the struggles that poorer families had and demanded financial compensation for them.

Helen Chenevix co-founded the Irish Women's Workers Union in 1916 and by 1918 it was recognised as a trade union, with over 5,000 members.

In 1949, Helen Chenevix served as vice president to the Irish Trade Union Congress and in 1951 she was appointed president.

Helen Chenevix was active in the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom and the Irish Pacifist Movement.

Helen Chenevix died of brain cancer on 4 March 1963 in Walkinstown Hospital, and she was buried in Deansgrange cemetery on 7 March of the same year.

Helen Chenevix's funeral was held in Monkstown Parish Church and was conducted by the Reverend RWM Wynne.