Century: Women and the vote

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.

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

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.

Anti-women legislation: The Irish Free State said it would ensure equality for women, but it turned out to be a false promise.

From New Zealand to Saudi Arabia: The representation of People Act, 1918, that granted votes to certain Irish and English women…

Prison hunger strikes: Some Irish suffragists moved to militancy a little after their English counterparts, but when they d, the stones flew.

UK links and tensions: Although influenced by what was going in Britain, suffragists in Ireland went their own way

Anti-suffrage movement: Educated women were among those arguing that female suffrage would damage society.

Women and war: The issue of pacifism split the Irish feminist movement during a crucial period in its history

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.

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 .

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.

“Women, in whatever country ye breathe – wherever ye breathe, degraded, awake! Awake to the contemplation of the happiness that…