Constance Markievicz Arish Struggle

Constance De Markievicz, is known largely through her involvement in Republican politics, her role in 1916 and her subsequent terms of imprisonment, and her part in founding na Fianna Eireann. It is not generally thought important to mention that the Countess, or ‘Madame’ as she was generally known, was very interested in the question of womens rights, the struggle for the vote and equality. She did believe, naievely, that the struggle for ’ National liberation would automatically bring about equality for women, and did not perhaps give the issue as much emphasis as she could have done.

Obviously, she was wrong in believing that involvement in the national struggle would bring about complete equality for women in the new post-revolutionary society, as events in Algeria and Ireland since then have shown. Her career points to the importance of women realising that they must organise for their rights as women, even whilst particip..ting in the struggle for national literation and socialism. The two issues are not separate. We cannot assume, as the mistake of Markievicz has shown us, that women will achieve full equality simply through political participation. The national revolution in Ireland, as is obvious, has never been finished, soit is now more important than ever, that the links are made between the rights of women and the struggle for the rights of all in a Socialist 32 County _ Republic.

The life of Constance De Markievicz Constance Gore-Booth was born in 1868, at Buckingham Gate, London. Her mother was an English aristocrat and her father inherited large estates in Ireland, where Constance spent most of her child-hood. She spent a part of her youth in living up to her role as society lady in London.and she returned to Ireland for holidays.

She showed her first interest in politics when she and her sister Eva, organised the Sligo Womens Suffrage Society, though she soon drifted away when she married a Polish Count Casimir Dunin Markiewicz. She and: her husband then entered the Arts Movement in Dublin, where they lived, and through the involvement of the Arts with politics, Constance became involved in the Nationalist movement.

In 1900 Maud Gonne had founded a feminist and separatist organisation, the Inghinidhe na hEireann (Daughters of Erin). Women | at this time were not exactly welcomed into mens organisations! Madame joined this organisation and they were involved in the organisation of patriotic plays, which led to the founding of the Abbey Theatre. They published the first and only journal devoted to Irish Womens nationalist activities, Bean na hEireann.

Women should be involved in politics She appealed to the young women of Ireland to take part in politics and in the national movement, as women fighting not for the franchise only, but also for Ireland. “‘A free Ireland with no Sex disabilities in her Constitution” should be the motto of all Nationalisist women”’ she said. She thought of the granting of the vote to women, however, as a “concession”’ which would have come in the natural course of evolution. She was mistaken, however, as was shown when the Provisional Government of the Irish Republic voted against extending the vote to younger women (older women had been voting since 1918). Ostensibly the reasons were that new registers could not be prepared in time. Another reason was that most women would have voted against the Treaty and the Pro-Treatyites would not have this at all. A certain amount of anti-feminism was certainly involved though. Giving the vote was not a principle with Sinn Fein or any other Irish Political parties. It ‘was not considered important.

Organising in the Women’s Trade Council Markievicz did, however, help her sister Eva. to organise in the Women’s Trade Council in Manchester, which aimed to fight discrimination against working women. She conceived the idea of the Fianna to counteract brainwashing of Irish boys by the newly organised Baden Powell Boy Scouts. Girls were not allowed into the movement and even Markievicz’s presence was questioned at the first