Sculpture unveiled to honour Countess Markievicz

The memory of Countess Markievicz was celebrated yesterday when a sculpture was unveiled in her honour in Rathcormac, Co Sligo.

Countess Markievicz (1868-1927) was the first woman elected to a British parliament, and was the minister for labour in the first Dáil . She fought in the 1916 Rising, and played a central role in the establishment of the State.

Born Constance Gore-Booth, her family had strong connections with W.B. Yeats. He immortalised her and her sister Eva in a poem with the words: two girls in silk kimonos, both beautiful, one a gazelle.

Countess Markievicz worked with prisoners and the destitute, and died in 1927 in a public ward of Sir Patrick Dun's Hospital in Dublin.

Rathcormac was chosen as the memorial's location as it is close to Lissadell, the Gore-Booth's home.

The 20ft bronze figure by John Coll is on a stone plinth with stainless steel gates. The spade which dug the grave of W.B. Yeats in 1947 was used to prepare the ground for the memorial.

It was unveiled by the Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, who described her as "a remarkable woman, and one of the outstanding social and historical figures in our history".

Mr Brennan said Countess Markievicz was recognised today as a symbol of unity and tolerance which transcended party allegiances.

"She was a committed revolutionary who went on to fully embrace the democratic system in the emerging new Ireland," he said.

"The fact that she dedicated much of her eventful life to helping others, particularly the poor and those on the margins of society, is testament to her commitment to building an Ireland in which the rights of all would be fully recognised."

Also yesterday, Mr Brennan launched the book Constance Markievicz - The People's Countess, edited by Mr Joe McGowan.