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Countess Markievicz's landmark 1918 election win focus of new exhibition

Countess Markievicz addressing Sinn Féin supporters during the 1917 Kilkenny by-election
Countess Markievicz addressing Sinn Féin supporters during the 1917 Kilkenny by-election Countess Markievicz addressing Sinn Féin supporters during the 1917 Kilkenny by-election

A NEW exhibition to mark the 100th anniversary of the first woman to be elected to Westminster will be launched in Dublin this week.

Sinn Féin representative Countess Markievicz became the first female MP after she was elected to the House of Commons in December 1918.

However she did not take up her seat and formed the first Dáil Éireann in January 1919. Several months later she became minister for labour - the first woman in the world to hold a cabinet position.

A daughter of Anglo-Irish landlord Sir Henry Gore-Booth, Constance Markievicz was elected just a year after she was released from prison for her part in the 1916 Easter Rising.

The new exhibition at Richmond Barracks in Dublin focuses on the two years between Countess Markievicz's release from Aylesbury Prison in England in June 1917 and her appointment as minister for labour in April 1919.

The exhibit looks closely at her election campaign and those who campaigned for her.

Countess Markievicz (middle) with friends and supporters in Dublin's Liberty Hall in 1919
Countess Markievicz (middle) with friends and supporters in Dublin's Liberty Hall in 1919 Countess Markievicz (middle) with friends and supporters in Dublin's Liberty Hall in 1919

In January 1922 Countess Markievicz left the government, along with Éamon de Valera, in protest at the Anglo-Irish Treaty.

The Republic's culture minister Josepha Madigan said the exhibition highlighted women's continued fight for equality.

"As we reflect on the significant contribution women have made to our country over the last century we should also reflect on the missed opportunities for women and society in the conservative State which came into being after independence," she said.

"We have made much progress in the Oireachtas to provide better and equal opportunities for all but we still have a way to travel.

"It is timely, on the 100 anniversary of the extension of the franchise to women to redouble our efforts to provide that opportunity."

A total of 17 women contested a seat in the 1918 election. They included Bangor-born Winifred Carney, a Sinn Féin representative who was Easter Rising leader James Connolly's secretary and was with him in the GPO during its initial occupation.

Ms Carney unsuccessfully stood in Belfast's Victoria constituency.

Bangor-born Winifred Carney, a Sinn Féin representative who stood in Belfast's Victoria constituency in the 1918 general election
Bangor-born Winifred Carney, a Sinn Féin representative who stood in Belfast's Victoria constituency in the 1918 general election Bangor-born Winifred Carney, a Sinn Féin representative who stood in Belfast's Victoria constituency in the 1918 general election

The exhibition will open on Friday, September 21.

It will also be available online later this year.

Read more:

  • Theresa May talks of importance of marking centenary anniversary of first female MP - an Irish republican who never took her seat
  • Hidden gems among new exhibition exploring lives of Countess Markievicz and Eva Gore-Booth
  • Easter Rising: Role of women in winning propaganda war to be discussed