'Furies' and 'die-hards': Women and Irish republicanism in the early twentieth century

Gender and History

Volumn 11, Issue 2, 1999, Pages 256-275

  Ryan, Louise ^a  

^a NONE

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EID: 0001310934     PISSN: 09535233     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/1468-0424.00142     Document Type: Article

References (112)

1. President Cosgrave, cited in Irish Times, 1 January 1923.
2. Maryann Valiulis, 'Power, Gender and Identity in the Irish Free State', in Irish Women's Voices Past and Present, ed. Joan Hoff and Moureen Coulter (Indiana University Press, Bloomington, 1995), pp. 217-36.
3. Anne McClintock, 'Family Feuds: Gender, Nationalism and the Family', Feminist Review, 44 (1993), p. 61.
4. McClintock, 'Family Feuds', p. 62.
5. George L. Mosse, Nationalism and Sexuality (Wisconsin University Press, London, 1985), p. 18.
6. Floya Anthias and Nira Yuval-Davis, Racialised Boundaries (Routledge, London, 1993).
7. Rick Fantasia and Eric Hirsch, 'Culture in Rebellion: The Appropriation and Transformation of the Veil in the Algerian Revolution', in Social Movements and Culture, ed. Hank Johnston and Bert Klandersman (University of Minnesota Press, London, 1995), pp. 144-59.
8. Nira Yuval-Davis, Gender and Nation (Sage, London, 1997), p. 98.
9. Cynthia Enloe, Banana, Beaches and Bases: Making Feminist Sense of International Politics (Pandora, London, 1989), p. 54.
10. Sarah Benton, 'Women Disarmed: The Militarisation of Politics in Ireland, 1913-1923', Feminist Review, 50 (1995), pp. 148-72.
11. Margaret MacCurtain and Mary O'Dowd, 'An Agenda for Women's History', Irish Historical Studies, 109 (1992), pp. 1-5.
12. Numerous biographies of male Republicans have been written. See, for example, Florence O'Donoghue, No Other Law: The Story of Liam Lynch (Irish Press Limited, Dublin, 1954), Meda Ryan, The Real Chief: The Story of Liam Lynch (Mercier Press, Cork, 1986) and Meda Ryan, The Tom Barry Story (Mercier Press, Cork, 1982).
13. Numerous biographies of male Republicans have been written. See, for example, Florence O'Donoghue, No Other Law: The Story of Liam Lynch (Irish Press Limited, Dublin, 1954), Meda Ryan, The Real Chief: The Story of Liam Lynch (Mercier Press, Cork, 1986) and Meda Ryan, The Tom Barry Story (Mercier Press, Cork, 1982).
14. Numerous biographies of male Republicans have been written. See, for example, Florence O'Donoghue, No Other Law: The Story of Liam Lynch (Irish Press Limited, Dublin, 1954), Meda Ryan, The Real Chief: The Story of Liam Lynch (Mercier Press, Cork, 1986) and Meda Ryan, The Tom Barry Story (Mercier Press, Cork, 1982).
15. Joost Augusteijn, From Public Defiance to Guerrilla War (Irish Academic Press, Dublin, 1996) and Michael Hopkinson, Green Against Green (Gill and Macmillan, Dublin, 1988).
16. Joost Augusteijn, From Public Defiance to Guerrilla War (Irish Academic Press, Dublin, 1996) and Michael Hopkinson, Green Against Green (Gill and Macmillan, Dublin, 1988).
17. Hopkinson, Green Against Green, p. 254.
18. The Irish Citizen's Army was set up in Dublin by James Connolly to protect striking workers during the Lockout of 1913. It was one of the very few nationalist organisations to admit men and women on an equal basis. Most of the women who actively participated in the fighting during the Easter Rising were members of the ICA. Cumann na mBan (Women's Council) was set up in 1914 as a female auxiliary of the all-male Volunteers. Although this group was initially criticised as mere 'handmaidens' to the men, in later years, particularly after the rising, the women became increasingly confident and militant.
19. Margaret Ward, Unmanageable Revolutionaries: Women and Irish Nationalism (Pluto, London, 1989).
20. Ruth Taillon, When History was Made: The Women of 1916 (Beyond the Pale Publications, Belfast, 1996), p. 67.
21. The numbers of women who participated in the Easter Rising are discussed in Ward, Unmanageable Revolutionaries, and Taillon, When History was Made.
22. The numbers of women who participated in the Easter Rising are discussed in Ward, Unmanageable Revolutionaries, and Taillon, When History was Made.
23. Cited in Taillon, When History was Made, p. 70.
24. Taillon, When History was Made.
25. For a discussion of the women who took part in the rising, see Ward, Unmanageable Revolutionaries, and Taillon, When History was Made.
26. For a discussion of the women who took part in the rising, see Ward, Unmanageable Revolutionaries, and Taillon, When History was Made.
27. Cited in Taillon, When History was Made, p. 57.
28. Maire Comerford in Survivors, ed. Uiseann MacEoin (Argenta Press, Dublin, 1980), p. 38.
29. Sighle Humphreys, in Survivors, ed. MacEoin, p. 339.
30. Cited in Taillon, When History was Made, p. 95.
31. Ward, Unmanageable Revolutionaries, p. 116.
32. See Ward, Unmanageable Revolutionaries and Taillon, When History was Made.
33. See Ward, Unmanageable Revolutionaries and Taillon, When History was Made.
34. Irish Times, editorial, 1 May 1916.
35. Irish Independent, editorial, 1 May 1916.
36. Irish Independent, 10 May 1916.
37. Irish Times, 12 May 1916.
38. Irish Independent, 5 May 1916.
39. Irish Times, 2 May 1916.
40. Irish Independent, 1 May 1916.
41. Irish Independent, 5, 9, 10 May 1916.
42. Kathleen Clarke, Revolutionary Woman (O'Brien Press, Dublin, 1991).
43. Ward, Unmanageable Revolutionaries, p. 120.
44. Sinn Fein was set up in 1905 and was initially a fairly constitutional nationalist group. Although it was not involved in the events of Easter 1916, the British authorities inaccurately labelled it a 'Sinn Fein Rising'. In reality the rising had been secretly planned by the Irish Republican Brotherhood and, apart from the ICA and Cumann na mBan, most combatants were members of the Irish Volunteers, which had been set up in 1913. However, in the aftermath of the rising it was decided to use the umbrella of Sinn Fein under which to reorganise the Republican forces. Hence, Sinn Fein was reborn under the leadership of Eamon de Valera as a militant Republican movement.
45. Liz Curtis, The Cause of Ireland (Beyond the Pale Publications, Belfast, 1994), p. 304. The relationship between Cumann na mBan and the suffrage movement was rather tense. Cumann na mBan insisted on prioritising the cause of Irish independence above issues like female enfranchisement. This lead to many heated debates between them and the suffragists. However, after enfranchisement was won in 1918, Cumann na mBan was quick to seize the opportunity to have its president, Constance Markievicz, elected for Sinn Fein as the first woman Member of Parliament; see Louise Ryan, 'Traditions and Double Moral Standards: The Irish Suffragists Critique of Nationalism', Women's History Review, 4 (1995), pp. 487-503, and Irish Feminism and the Vote (Polens, Dublin, 1996).
46. Liz Curtis, The Cause of Ireland (Beyond the Pale Publications, Belfast, 1994), p. 304. The relationship between Cumann na mBan and the suffrage movement was rather tense. Cumann na mBan insisted on prioritising the cause of Irish independence above issues like female enfranchisement. This lead to many heated debates between them and the suffragists. However, after enfranchisement was won in 1918, Cumann na mBan was quick to seize the opportunity to have its president, Constance Markievicz, elected for Sinn Fein as the first woman Member of Parliament; see Louise Ryan, 'Traditions and Double Moral Standards: The Irish Suffragists Critique of Nationalism', Women's History Review, 4 (1995), pp. 487-503, and Irish Feminism and the Vote (Polens, Dublin, 1996).
47. Liz Curtis, The Cause of Ireland (Beyond the Pale Publications, Belfast, 1994), p. 304. The relationship between Cumann na mBan and the suffrage movement was rather tense. Cumann na mBan insisted on prioritising the cause of Irish independence above issues like female enfranchisement. This lead to many heated debates between them and the suffragists. However, after enfranchisement was won in 1918, Cumann na mBan was quick to seize the opportunity to have its president, Constance Markievicz, elected for Sinn Fein as the first woman Member of Parliament; see Louise Ryan, 'Traditions and Double Moral Standards: The Irish Suffragists Critique of Nationalism', Women's History Review, 4 (1995), pp. 487-503, and Irish Feminism and the Vote (Polens, Dublin, 1996).
48. Curtis, The Cause of Ireland, p. 358.
49. Clarke, Revolutionary Woman.
50. Ward, Unmanageable Revolutionaries, p. 143.
51. Kathleen Keyes McDonnell, There Is a Bridge at Bandon: A Personal Account of the Irish War of Independence (Mercier Press, Cork, 1972), p. 116.
52. McDonnell, There Is a Bridge at Bandon, p. 117.
53. Clarke, Revolutionary Woman.
54. Tom Barry, Guerrilla Days in Ireland (Anvil Books, Dublin, 1993).
55. Benton, 'Women Disarmed', p. 164.
56. Mary Layoun, 'Telling Spaces: Palestinian Women and the Engendering of National Narratives', in Nationalisms and Sexualities, ed. Andrew Parker et al. (Routledge, New York, 1992), pp. 407-23.
57. Fantasia and Hirsch, 'Culture in Rebellion'.
58. Lil Conlon, Cumann na mBan and the Women of Ireland (Kilkenny People Limited, Kilkenny, 1969).
59. Aideen Sheehan, 'Cumann na mBan: Policies and Activities', in Revolution? Ireland 1917-1923, ed. David Fitzpatrick (Trinity History Workshop, Dublin, 1990), pp. 88-97; Ward, Unmanageable Revolutionaries; Conlon, Cumann na mBan; Barry, Guerrilla Days in Ireland; Sinead McCoole, Guns and Chiffon: Women Revolutionaries and Kilmainham Gaol (Government Publications, Dublin, 1997); Margaret Buckley, The Jangle of the Keys (James Duffy, Dublin, 1938); Margaret Ward, Hanna Sheehy Skeffington: A Life (Cork University Press, Cork, 1997), p. 256.
60. Aideen Sheehan, 'Cumann na mBan: Policies and Activities', in Revolution? Ireland 1917-1923, ed. David Fitzpatrick (Trinity History Workshop, Dublin, 1990), pp. 88-97; Ward, Unmanageable Revolutionaries; Conlon, Cumann na mBan; Barry, Guerrilla Days in Ireland; Sinead McCoole, Guns and Chiffon: Women Revolutionaries and Kilmainham Gaol (Government Publications, Dublin, 1997); Margaret Buckley, The Jangle of the Keys (James Duffy, Dublin, 1938); Margaret Ward, Hanna Sheehy Skeffington: A Life (Cork University Press, Cork, 1997), p. 256.
61. Aideen Sheehan, 'Cumann na mBan: Policies and Activities', in Revolution? Ireland 1917-1923, ed. David Fitzpatrick (Trinity History Workshop, Dublin, 1990), pp. 88-97; Ward, Unmanageable Revolutionaries; Conlon, Cumann na mBan; Barry, Guerrilla Days in Ireland; Sinead McCoole, Guns and Chiffon: Women Revolutionaries and Kilmainham Gaol (Government Publications, Dublin, 1997); Margaret Buckley, The Jangle of the Keys (James Duffy, Dublin, 1938); Margaret Ward, Hanna Sheehy Skeffington: A Life (Cork University Press, Cork, 1997), p. 256.
62. Aideen Sheehan, 'Cumann na mBan: Policies and Activities', in Revolution? Ireland 1917-1923, ed. David Fitzpatrick (Trinity History Workshop, Dublin, 1990), pp. 88-97; Ward, Unmanageable Revolutionaries; Conlon, Cumann na mBan; Barry, Guerrilla Days in Ireland; Sinead McCoole, Guns and Chiffon: Women Revolutionaries and Kilmainham Gaol (Government Publications, Dublin, 1997); Margaret Buckley, The Jangle of the Keys (James Duffy, Dublin, 1938); Margaret Ward, Hanna Sheehy Skeffington: A Life (Cork University Press, Cork, 1997), p. 256.
63. Aideen Sheehan, 'Cumann na mBan: Policies and Activities', in Revolution? Ireland 1917-1923, ed. David Fitzpatrick (Trinity History Workshop, Dublin, 1990), pp. 88-97; Ward, Unmanageable Revolutionaries; Conlon, Cumann na mBan; Barry, Guerrilla Days in Ireland; Sinead McCoole, Guns and Chiffon: Women Revolutionaries and Kilmainham Gaol (Government Publications, Dublin, 1997); Margaret Buckley, The Jangle of the Keys (James Duffy, Dublin, 1938); Margaret Ward, Hanna Sheehy Skeffington: A Life (Cork University Press, Cork, 1997), p. 256.
64. Aideen Sheehan, 'Cumann na mBan: Policies and Activities', in Revolution? Ireland 1917-1923, ed. David Fitzpatrick (Trinity History Workshop, Dublin, 1990), pp. 88-97; Ward, Unmanageable Revolutionaries; Conlon, Cumann na mBan; Barry, Guerrilla Days in Ireland; Sinead McCoole, Guns and Chiffon: Women Revolutionaries and Kilmainham Gaol (Government Publications, Dublin, 1997); Margaret Buckley, The Jangle of the Keys (James Duffy, Dublin, 1938); Margaret Ward, Hanna Sheehy Skeffington: A Life (Cork University Press, Cork, 1997), p. 256.
65. Aideen Sheehan, 'Cumann na mBan: Policies and Activities', in Revolution? Ireland 1917-1923, ed. David Fitzpatrick (Trinity History Workshop, Dublin, 1990), pp. 88-97; Ward, Unmanageable Revolutionaries; Conlon, Cumann na mBan; Barry, Guerrilla Days in Ireland; Sinead McCoole, Guns and Chiffon: Women Revolutionaries and Kilmainham Gaol (Government Publications, Dublin, 1997); Margaret Buckley, The Jangle of the Keys (James Duffy, Dublin, 1938); Margaret Ward, Hanna Sheehy Skeffington: A Life (Cork University Press, Cork, 1997), p. 256.
66. Ward, Unmanageable Revolutionaries.
67. Charlotte Fallon, Soul of Fire: A Biography of Mary MacSwiney (Mercier, Dublin, 1986), pp. 61-2.
68. Ernie O'Malley, On Another Man's Wound (Anvil Books, Dublin, 1994), p. 290.
69. Ryan, Tom Barry Story.
70. See coverage of the Irish War of Independence in national dailies such as the Irish Independent and the Cork Examiner, the largest selling provincial daily.
71. Cork Examiner, 8 July 1921, carried an article entitled 'Women killed in Ireland', which recounted the large number of women victims of the conflict.
72. Cork Examiner, 28 October 1920. Assaults such as these were reported with increased regularity as the War of Independence intensified in late 1920 and early 1921. Due to press censorship, it was difficult for newspapers to openly accuse British soldiers of carrying out these assaults on women. However, other sources, such as Conlon, Cumann na mBan and the Women on Ireland, and Clarke, Revolutionary Woman, both claim that British soldiers attacked Republican women and cut off their hair. It is worthy of note that while women were physically assaulted, few were arrested. This suggests that the women were perceived by the British authorities as Republican sympathisers rather than active agents in the Republican movement.
73. Cork Examiner, 28 October 1920. Assaults such as these were reported with increased regularity as the War of Independence intensified in late 1920 and early 1921. Due to press censorship, it was difficult for newspapers to openly accuse British soldiers of carrying out these assaults on women. However, other sources, such as Conlon, Cumann na mBan and the Women on Ireland, and Clarke, Revolutionary Woman, both claim that British soldiers attacked Republican women and cut off their hair. It is worthy of note that while women were physically assaulted, few were arrested. This suggests that the women were perceived by the British authorities as Republican sympathisers rather than active agents in the Republican movement.
74. Cork Examiner, 28 October 1920. Assaults such as these were reported with increased regularity as the War of Independence intensified in late 1920 and early 1921. Due to press censorship, it was difficult for newspapers to openly accuse British soldiers of carrying out these assaults on women. However, other sources, such as Conlon, Cumann na mBan and the Women on Ireland, and Clarke, Revolutionary Woman, both claim that British soldiers attacked Republican women and cut off their hair. It is worthy of note that while women were physically assaulted, few were arrested. This suggests that the women were perceived by the British authorities as Republican sympathisers rather than active agents in the Republican movement.
75. Freeman's Journal, 10 February 1921.
76. McCoole, Guns and Chiffon.
77. McCoole, Guns and Chiffon.
78. Helen Litton, The Irish Civil War (Wolfhound Press, Dublin, 1997).
79. Although the treaty was rejected by a huge majority of Cumann na mBan delegates, the decision was not unanimous, with 419 versus 63 votes. See Conlon, Cumann na mBan and the Women of Ireland.
80. Ernie O'Malley, The Singing Flame (Anvil Books, Dublin, 1992), p. 148.
81. O'Malley, The Singing Flame, pp. 174-5.
82. Fallon, Soul of Fire, p. 102.
83. Ward, Unmanageable Revolutionaries, p. 109.
84. Fallon, Soul of Fire, p. 98.
85. O'Malley, The Singing Flame, pp. 176-7.
86. Frances Blake, The Irish Civil War (Information on Ireland, London, 1986), p. 35.
87. Blake, Irish Civil War, p. 34.
88. Cork Examiner, 16 October 1922.
89. Cork Examiner, 4 December 1922.
90. Ward, Unmanageable Revolutionaries.
91. Cork Examiner, 23 September 1922.
92. Irish Times, 13 January 1923.
93. This official statement was carried in both the Irish Independent and the Cork Examiner on 1 January 1923.
94. This official statement was carried in both the Irish Independent and the Cork Examiner on 1 January 1923.
95. Irish Times, 1 January 1923.
96. Benton, 'Women Disarmed'.
97. Irish Times, 6 January 1923.
98. Irish Independent, 15 January 1923.
99. Irish Times, 18 January 1923.
100. Cork Examiner, 9 January 1923.
101. Cork Examiner, 22 January 1923.
102. Cork Examiner, 1 February 1923.
103. Irish Times, 1 February 1923.
104. Irish Times, 6 February 1923.
105. Margaret Ward, Hanna Sheehy Skeffington, p. 256.
106. R. M. Fox, Rebel Irishwomen (Talbot Press, Dublin, 1935), pp. 85-6.
107. Fallon, Soul of Fire, p. 131.
108. Comerford, in Survivors.
109. Ward, Hanna Sheehy Skeffington.
110. Breda Gray and Louise Ryan, '(Dis)locating "Woman" and Women in Representations of Irish Nationality', in Women and Irish Society: A Sociological Reader, ed. Anne Byrne and Madeleine Leonard (Beyond the Pale Publications, Belfast, 1997), pp. 517-34.
111. Cork Examiner, 18 May 1925.
112. Anthias and Yuval-Davis, Racialised Boundaries.