On July 31 1914, Lillian Metge, along with three fellow suffragettes, detonated explosives in Lisburn Cathedral, blowing out the oldest stained glass chancel window in the building.
The police were on their tracks quickly: apart from leaving their campaign literature in the building, there were also four sets of muddy boot-prints leading to Metge’s back door.
Metge was known for her militancy for her cause; she had been part of a group that charged King George outside Buckingham Palace, and arrested for throwing stones at court windows.
In their trials, the women refused to co-operate, instead making loud, heckling speeches about their cause, and pushing the police in the courtroom. One of them threw an apple at the Crown Prosecutor.
The public were, by and large, not on their side. The police had to provide protection, keeping them safe from bottles, stones and mud thrown their way as they were taken into custody. It reminds me of the opprobrium thrown at almost every kind of political movement, until it’s not.
Earlier this month, four members of the protest group Just Stop Oil were sentenced to four years – and five years for the perceived leader – for “conspiracy to cause a public nuisance”. The public nuisance in question was the blocking of a road.
Just Stop Oil have a keen eye for headline-grabbing stunts and have in the past engaged in some of the most memorable kinds of protests possible, throwing paint and food over famous paintings – albeit they have ensured that their targets are covered in protective glass which just needs to be cleaned.
In June, they sprayed orange powder over some of the stones at Stonehenge. The powder was made of cornflower and will wash away easily.
None of this careful planning seems to matter to the public reaction. Both major British political parties reached across the aisle in condemnation: Rishi Sunak accused the group of a “disgraceful act of vandalism”, while Kier Starmer said they were “pathetic” and their actions “outrageous”.
Online, the reaction was stronger. People went further than throwing mud and stones, suggesting the death penalty and public flogging in a froth of rage. In the past, the group’s “slow walks” blocking traffic in streets has resulted in members being assaulted.
I’m not sure to what degree Just Stop Oil are changing hearts and minds, but the point is not to evaluate their PR strategy. It seems like the goal is to get attention for the climate crisis, and they’re certainly succeeding in increasing conversation.
Meanwhile, last summer was the hottest since records began, heatwaves are becoming more frequent and so are storms, floods, landslides, wild fires and other extreme weather events. Locally, Lough Neagh is the blue-green version of a red flag.
We can’t procrastinate forever. The day will come, and it won’t be too far away, when we reckon with their concerns, when they will become ours too – there will not be a choice.
I wonder what we’ll think of the reaction to a group that are, at worst, inconveniencing people. I wonder whether we’ll compare it to a group that engaged in far more dramatic and violent activism for their cause.
I hope in another century there are enough of us around to celebrate the moment that the public conversation shifted on climate
Lillian Metge and her comrades went to prison, where Lilian went on hunger strike. They were released later that year, as were many of their comrades across these islands, as the First World War broke out. The public shifted, and four years later they had partially won their aim – some women had the right to vote, universal suffrage soon followed.
In 2018 I took part in an event called Processions, which commemorated the centenary of the first women gaining that most precious right. In cities across these islands, tens of thousands of women took to the streets and remembered the women who did brave and sometimes dangerous things to win that right. Nobody pelted us with stones and mud. The public has moved on this; of course, they say, women deserve the right to vote.
I hope in another century there are enough of us around to celebrate the moment that the public conversation shifted on climate, and we remember the studiously peaceful people who helped bring us along that journey with fondness.
