Their struggle is our struggle: Women’s empowerment will progress only through their involvement in political processes and in shaping constitutions that guarantee the equal rights of all citizens.
Women often wielded authority at home 100 years ago, but as public figures in professions such as teaching and nursing they were becoming much more common.
In Dublin city in 1911, 26,000 families lived in tenements, 20,000 of them in single rooms
The big picture: The Irish women’s movement was created by unionists and nationalists, Home Rulers and republicans, liberals and socialists, Protestants, Catholics and women of no religion. They deserve a place in the history books.
Read all about it: Research on Irish feminism often concentrates on the pursuit of votes, but there were other issues and many debates within the movement which can be better understood by reading its ‘Irish Citizen’ newspaper.
Prison hunger strikes: Some Irish suffragists moved to militancy a little after their English counterparts, but when they d, the stones flew.
Suffrage and socialism : Suffrage and trade union aims didn’t always tally – some trade unionists supported higher wages for men, for example – but they found common cause fighting against injustice and for equality
“Women, in whatever country ye breathe – wherever ye breathe, degraded, awake! Awake to the contemplation of the happiness that…
Women and war: The issue of pacifism split the Irish feminist movement during a crucial period in its history
From New Zealand to Saudi Arabia: The representation of People Act, 1918, that granted votes to certain Irish and English women…
UK links and tensions: Although influenced by what was going in Britain, suffragists in Ireland went their own way
The fight for a free state: In 1914, as the Home Rule crisis deepened, northern militancy escalated in protest against Edward Carson’s statement that women would not be given the vote in a secessionist Ulster.
Anti-women legislation: The Irish Free State said it would ensure equality for women, but it turned out to be a false promise.
Anna Haslam, with help from the writings of her husband, Thomas, was a pioneer in persuading women of all political hues to stand for election .
Northern Ireland : Ethnicity and class were just some of the pressures facing Ulster’s suffrage movement.
Anti-suffrage movement: Educated women were among those arguing that female suffrage would damage society.
More to play for:Many women are unwilling to call themselves feminists but would be appalled to give up the rights won by their predecessors.
Born into a middle-class Dublin family, Helena Molony became one of Ireland’s most committed trade union, republican and feminist…
Jennie Wyse Power, nee O’Toole, was a feminist and a nationalist involved in the major events in Irish history throughout her life.
Born Johanna Sheehy, daughter of an Irish Party MP, she was asked while a university student to sign a petition for women’s suffrage…
Kathleen Lynn’s main claim to fame is her establishment of St Ultan’s Hospital for Infants with her great friend Madeleine ffrench…
Cissie Cahalan, trade unionist, feminist, and schoolteacher’s daughter, was born in Tipperary or Cork
Scottish-born Margaret McCoubrey’s interests spanned socialism and feminism
Margaret (Gretta) Cousins, theosophist and feminist, was born Margaret Gillespie, daughter of a law clerk, in Boyle, Co Roscommon…
“A flagrant and crying injustice, which should not be tolerated another instant,” was how Mary Hayden, addressing the Irish Women…
Born into a wealthy Dublin Protestant family, Louie Bennett at the age of 41 embarked on a public life that included activity for female suffrage, women workers and pacifism.
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