Women’s history event held in Nenagh
A full-house audience at Nenagh Arts Centre was treated to a lively and entertaining account of women’s lives in Ireland’s revolutionary period last Saturday night.
Tipperary in the Decade of Revolution hosted the event, with Caitlin White of Nenagh (and TCD) chairing the discussion and questions and answers. Guest speakers Dr Mary McAuliffe (UCD) and Liz Gillis (Dublin), noted historians of women in this period, introduced the forgotten roles of women in the various phases as well as the previously neglected experiences of women in this period. It was illustrated how women were subject to the constant threat of physical violence and even sexual violence as homes were raided during the conflicts. They also explained how the generation of revolutionary young women were shoe-horned back into domestic roles in the early decades of the new State.
Local historian Margaret Kennedy of Dromineer gave a fascinating account of her work in researching the files contained in the Military Archives, most especially the Military Service Pension Collection (MSPC). Her study of the files relating to north Tipperary revealed that only 33 women, who were among the hundreds of members of Cumann na mBan in the county, were deemed eligible for a military pension. The details of the young women’s activities, which are set out in the pension applications, make research so rewarding. They looked after arms and ammunition for the IRA, carrying guns to ambushes and raids and then retrieving them to hide yet again - Nora O’Sullivan (nee McDonnell) being a case in point. Their work of carrying despatches, intelligence gathering and keeping safe houses left these women vulnerable, in fact, putting their lives at risk for the cause of Irish freedom. The cases of Bella Lucas, Margaret Nolan, Mary Ann O’Neill, Bridget Tompkins, Lizzie McLoughlin were cited as a few examples. Another of Tipperary in the Decade of Revolution’s Centenary booklets was available for the audience. It set out examples of the Biographical Notes on women that have been prepared over the last number of years and provided detail on the six women who were killed in Tipperary at the various stages of conflict. Some of the photos in the Booklet are shown in the poster.
Tipperary in the Decade of Revolution group is seeking to gather the life stories of women of this generation and are asking descendants of our grandmothers and great-grandmothers to prepare biographical notes which record the lives of the generation of women who have been written out of our history before their stories are lost.
Margaret Kennedy showed how anyone can search the Military Archives online at www.militaryarchives.ie and find these wonderful nuggets of information and insight in to these women’s lives who endured true hardship, threat and intimidation, violence and death even but who endured and persevered in the newly formed state that did not treat them as equal citizens as had being promised in the 1916 Proclamation.
In conclusion, Caitlin White on behalf of the Tipperary in the Decade of Revolution Group of historians thanked the staff at the Arts Centre and acknowledged the support from Tipperary County Council and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media to enable events such as last Saturday night’s in Nenagh.