The Tyrone woman who awoke a nation - Margaret Noble, the trailblazing Indian nationalist Sister Nivedita

DOTTED around towns, streets and landmarks are blue plaques, quiet memorials to commemorate inspirational individuals from all walks of life, including those whose history has been hidden or largely forgotten.

One such plaque was erected in Dungannon, Co Tyrone in 2007 for Margaret Noble, a prolific writer and Indian nationalist – a small circular tribute which captured the attention and imagination of retired university lecturer Jean McGuinness.

“My husband Larry and I were in the Fort Bar in Dungannon one Sunday night,” she recalls.

“And I went outside to get some air and as I was standing there, I looked up and I saw this blue plaque which read, ‘Margaret Elizabeth Noble (Sister Nivedita) 1867-1911, born in this street, writer and Indian Nationalist’ and I thought to myself, ‘I’ve never heard tell of her.’”

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Margaret Noble was born in Scotch Street, Dungannon but moved to England as child and was educated in Halifax. She trained as a teacher and was co-founder of a school in Wimbledon.

She went to India in 1897, adopted Buddhism and was given the name Sister Nivedita. She founded a school in Calcutta and wrote many articles and books, one of which, The Web of Indian Life, is regarded as one of the few fair accounts of Hindu society written in English.

She also designed the first national flag of India and helped to revolutionise the Indian art movement. She was in favour of Indian nationalism and lobbied British members of parliament to this end. In India today she is still remembered and revered with multiple Sister Nivedita schools, colleges and academies being erected in her honour.

When she died her body was cremated in Darjeeling in India’s West Bengal state and a memorial to her is inscribed: “Here reposes Sister Nivedita, who gave her all to India.”

“I went home and Googled her – as you do,” explains Jean.

“And at that time, I was doing a degree – I’d already done a degree in nursing and a master’s in communications when I was younger but when I retired, I wanted to keep the brain going so I decided I’d go back to school and study Irish.

“It was coming up to when we had to submit the plan for our dissertation and after learning about how remarkable she was I decided I would do my dissertation – in Irish – on Sister Nivedita.

“I argued that she was an Irish woman who had been forgotten about and to my surprise, Ulster University, where I was studying, not only agreed to let me do it but were incredibly supportive.”

Following on from her dissertation Jean was encouraged to continue with her research into Sister Nivedita by Maurice Hayes, who had also developed a keen interest in the Dungannon-born activist.

“It’s Maurice who’s responsible for the blue plaque being there in the first place,” she explains.

The notion that Margaret Noble was in fact a nationalist, a Protestant and a woman at that time is amazing. She went to India, and she awakened a nation; if she’d stayed at home, she wouldn’t have even had a vote

—  Jean McGuinness

As she started to become synonymous with Sister Nivedita, Jean was soon inundated with requests to deliver talks on the inspirational Tyrone nun.

“I’m not a public speaker,” she laughs.

“But I really wanted to do something to help her get some recognition.

“So, I sat down, took my dissertation and I made it into a docu-drama style play - and it was just class.”

The 90-minute performance which Jean whimsically entitled Awakening a Nation used Margaret’s own works and words to illustrate key aspects of her life and legacy, most notably her resilience, dedication to helping others, willingness to embrace new opportunities and fearlessness in railing against oppression.

“I wrote it in three days and it was just me and three friends performing it – we were the cast, the production team, stage managers – all of it.

“I remember being at a council meeting pitching the idea of putting it on and they asked what the name of the drama group was and just off the top of my head I said, the Noble Thespians. I couldn’t believe nobody laughed,” Jean confesses.

The play went on to be shown in Dungannon, Coalisland, Conway Mill in west Belfast, Birmingham and the Samuel Beckett Theatre in Dublin.

“What really got me, and what I wanted other people to understand, was that she didn’t fit into any boxes,” explains Jean.

“She wasn’t viewed as a real Protestant because her family were in favour of home rule, and she was lobbying for Indian nationalism, but she wasn’t a nationalist because people thought you had to be a Catholic to be a nationalist.

“So, the notion that she was in fact a nationalist, a Protestant and a woman at that time is amazing.

“She went to India, and she awakened a nation; if she’d stayed at home, she wouldn’t have even had a vote.”

The performance received an “overwhelmingly positive” response which inspired Jean to organise conferences and events to help further educate people on Sister Nivedita and her Tyrone roots.

“We had visitors from all over India come to Dungannon as a pilgrimage to her.

“In fact, the president of the Ramakrishna Movement visited, and he said it was a place of pilgrimage just like the Ganges for them.”

In recognition of her mission to make Margaret Noble known not only in Dungannon but beyond, Jean was recently awarded the prestigious Sister Nivedita Lifetime Achievement Award on behalf of the Ireland India Council.

The accolade honours those who have demonstrated a lifetime of unwavering dedication to cultural, educational and humanitarian efforts, significantly benefiting both Irish and Indian societies.

“I was flabbergasted when I found out,” she admits.

“Everybody thinks that the stuff I was doing to remember Sister Nivedita must have been really hard work but it wasn’t - it was absolutely brilliant.

“It was like a crossword - it was always challenging but it was always enjoyable.”