Martha Hennessy

Martha Hennessy (born 1955) is an American peace activist and member of the Catholic Worker movement.[1][2][3][4]

Life and work

Hennessy grew up Weathersfield, Vermont. She is the seventh child of David Hennessy and Tamar Day Hennessy, the only child of Dorothy Day. Her sister is Kate Hennessy.

She worked for 30 years as an occupational therapist at the VA medical center in White River Junction.

She lives on her family farm in Vermont and Maryhouse Catholic Worker in New York City.[5]

In 1979, Hennessy was arrested with many other demonstrators while attempting to occupy the Seabrook Station Nuclear Power Plant under construction in Seabrook, New Hampshire.[5]

Since then, she has been arrested while demonstrating against the prison at Guantanamo Bay, the United States government's use of drones in war, and the use of starvation as a weapon of war in Yemen.

Hennessy is married to Steven Melanson, a carpenter and photographer. They have been married for 40 years. She is a grandmother of eight.[5]

Kings Bay Plowshares

On April 4, 2018, she took part in the Kings Bay Plowshares action.[6]

She was placed under house arrest in late May 2018 with an electronic monitoring bracelet strapped to her left ankle.[5]

On November 13, 2020, she was sentenced to 10 months in prison for her part in breaking into Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base.[7][8][9]

References
  1. "Catholic Worker confronts new era". National Catholic Reporter. March 2, 2020.
  2. "Longtime Anti-Nuclear Activists Face Prison, Again, After Breaking Into Naval Base". NPR.org.
  3. Leader, Times (September 18, 2015). "Granddaughter of Catholic Worker Movement founder Dorothy Day, Martha Hennessy to speak at Misericordia". Times Leader.
  4. Gonzalez, David (June 21, 2015). "Invoking the Radical Spirit of Dorothy Day to Fight a Church Closing (Published 2015)" – via NYTimes.com.
  5. "Jim Kenyon: Despite House Arrest, Vt. Activist's Faith, Beliefs Remain Unshakeable". Valley News. July 9, 2018.
  6. "Explainer: Who are the Kings Bay Plowshares 7, the Catholics convicted of protesting nuclear weapons?". America Magazine. 2019-11-20. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
  7. "Dorothy Day's Vermont granddaughter off to prison for nuclear break-in". VTDigger. November 23, 2020.
  8. SwainNovember 16 2020, Elise SwainElise; P.m, 9:02. "Anti-Nuclear Pacifists Get Federal Prison Terms for Nonviolent Protest". The Intercept.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. Margaronis, Maria (November 25, 2020). "Free the Plowshares 7!" – via www.thenation.com.
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