Clodagh Finn: Big Rachel, the 6ft 4in labourer, is a giant of our hidden history

Rachel Hamilton, the formidable 6ft 4in pipe-smoking shipyard worker and Irishwoman who was hired as a special constable to quell the riots that broke out during the centenary celebrations of Daniel O’Connell’s birth, almost 150 years ago this week. Picture: © CSG CIC Glasgow Museums Collection

L et me introduce you to ‘Big Rachel’, the 6ft 4in pipe-smoking shipyard worker who was hired as a special constable to quell the riots that broke out in Glasgow during the centenary celebrations of Daniel O’Connell’s birth, almost 150 years ago this week.

She is not very well known here, in the country of her birth, but Rachel Hamilton, the towering navvy, labourer and peacekeeper, is celebrated with affection in her adopted Glasgow.