Joyce McCartan MBE (26 November 1929 – 8 January 1996) was a Northern Irish community worker. Early life and family Joyce McCartan was born Joyce Buchanan on 26 November 1929 in Banbridge, County Down. Her father was Hugh Buchanan, whose family originally came from Scotland. She had three brothers. Her mother died when she was around 7 years old, which left her with the responsibility of looking after her father and brothers. She attended school in Banbridge, but left at age 14 to work in a cloth factory in Seaforde. She worked there for 2 years, but due to her unhappiness at home, she ran away to Belfast at age 16. There she found work as an assistant in a draper's shop. She met her husband, Seamus McCartan, at a dance hall. They lived in Bagot Street, just off the Ormeau Road. McCartan had been raised Protestant, but her husband was Catholic, and they raised their 8 children as Catholics. Activism From the early 1970s, McCartan was involved in local protests along the Ormeau Road organised by women. These protests were on a wide range of issues including the ending of free milk for primary school children and the increasingly high cost of public transport. McCartan later described herself as a "family feminist". To help provide a support network to groups involved in this sort of action, McCartan was involved with the Women's Information Group, which allowed women to lead on local community issues. The services ranged from advice centres to children's facilities to action groups to pressure government bodies. The movement spread across Belfast, and despite the sectarian tension of the time, was a cross community initiative. Buoyed by the success of the network, McCartan established the Women's Information Drop-In Centre (WIDIC) on the Lower Ormeau Road. This area was badly affected by the Troubles, which led to poor infrastructure and very few public amenities. The WIDIC provided a safe meeting place for women's groups, but also started homework classes for the local children. They grew and sold vegetables and flowers to fund the activities, taking over a derelict chip shop and opening it as the Lamplighter Fish and Chip Restaurant, providing employment and a local, safe meeting place. A youth training operation, Mornington Enterprises, was launched with government support, which trained teenagers in a range of skills including catering, computing, gardening, woodwork and painting and decorating. McCartan suffered