Irish Women in Politics with Guest Speaker Michelle O’Neill
Where: American Irish Historical Society (AIHS)
991 Fifth Ave.
212-288-2263 Price: Free
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On the 150th Anniversary of the birth of Countess Markievicz, please join us for a discussion with Special Guest, Michelle O’Neill, deputy leader of Sinn Féin
Countess Markievicz was the first female MP elected in Ireland and first female Cabinet Minister elected in Europe. Born Constance Gore-Booth in London on 4 February 1868, her parents owned the picturesque Lissadell House in Co. Sligo, where Constance spent most of her childhood. She followed her artistic dreams to London, where she befriended the poet W.B. Yeats and later to Paris, where Constance met the Polish Count Casimir Markievicz. They married in London in 1900 and their daughter Maeve was born in Lissadell in 1901. The couple later drifted apart due to differing interests. Initially, the Countess lived in Dublin as an artist, but she became increasingly involved in politics. Her earliest political involvement was joining Maud Gonne’s Inghinidhe na hÉireann (Daughters of Ireland) in 1908. The following year she joined Sinn Féin and she set up Na Fianna Éireann, a young boyscout troop. Together with Delia Larkin, she organised a soup kitchen in Liberty Hall during the 1913 Lockout.
Constance Markievicz became a member of the Irish Citizen Army (ICA), which was under the command of socialist James Connolly, who was a formative influence on Markievicz. He afforded the women in the ICA an opportunity to take part in the Easter Rising on an equal footing to the men.
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