Women of the Easter Rising and its aftermath

36 Pages·2016·2.33 MB·English

by  Tomas Macconmara

Women of the Easter Rising and its
aftermath - Revolution and Memory
Dr. Tomás Mac Conmara

‘An intense longing for Irish freedom’
‘My late mother, R.I.P., was very well versed in Irish history, local and national, and
her knowledge, coloured by an intense longing for Irish freedom, set us all on the
warpath long before the actual struggle started. I became conscious that I had a
country long before I had reached ten years of age, and that our country was held
in subjection by England by force of arms; that several attempts had been made to
overthrow British rule, particular emphasis having been laid on the Risings of
1798, 1803, 1848 and 1867, and I remember that she made these periods of
history most interesting to us by epic tales of local feats achieved by the fathers or
grandfathers of a number of people known to us’.
NAI, Bureau of Military History, (hereafter BMH), Witness Statement, Art
O’Donnell, W.S. 1,322, p. 2.
Cumann na mBan
Founded in April 1914
1. ‘Cause of Irish liberty’
2. ‘To assist in the arming and equipping of a
body of Irishmen’.
3. ‘An independent body of Nationalist
Irishwomen‘ (December 1914)
Early Declaration
‘We came into being to advance the cause of
Irish Liberty ... We feel bound to make the
pronouncement that to urge or encourage
Irish Volunteers to enlist in the British army
cannot, under any circumstances, be regarded
as consistent with the work we have set
ourselves to do.’