Description
Book SynopsisUpdated edition with many more biographies and a new introduction by the author.
Spies, snipers, couriers, gun-runners, medics, women played a major role in the fight for Ireland's freedom, risking loss of life and family for a cause to which they were totally committed.
This book highlights a time when vast numbers of Irish women were politicised and imprisoned for their beliefs, with a special emphasis on one prison, Kilmainham Gaol. They came from every class in society and all walks of life: titled ladies and shop assistants, doctors, housewives, laundry workers, artists and teachers. Some were married with children, others widowed and some mere schoolchildren.
These are hidden stories that vividly recreate the characters, personalities and courage of Ireland's revolutionary women.
Trade Reviewabsolutely riveting
-- South East Radio’s Morning Mix
impressive contribution to the decade of centenaries … a fine book and a very worthwhile counterweight to the overwhelmingly male view of the Rising and War of Independence that still prevails
-- The Tuam Herald
An outstanding book, painstakingly researched, accessibly structured and beautifully presented ... This is a book about who we are, peopled by familiar faces. Its pages are friends. Yes, it is a monument of sorts; certainly a tribute and a rich resource. More than anything, it is a great story waiting too long to be told.
-- Irish Independent * Irish Independent *
This book is important to the study of the period and to the hidden history of women in Ireland
-- Dermot Bolger - The Sunday Tribune * The Sunday Tribune *
a remarkable book
-- Irish Examiner
'What amazed me was the extraordinary bravery of the women, which would never have been recorded had it not been for this book'
-- Irish Examiner
Table of ContentsIntroduction by Dr Margaret Ward 11
Foreword: Finding Women 12
Chapter 1: Women Activists (1900–1916) 20
Chapter 2: The Women of the Rising 34
Chapter 3: Women and the Road to Independence (1917–1921) 59
Chapter 4: The Civil War (1922–1923) 88
Biographies 139
Appendix 1: Prisoner List – 1916 242
Appendix 2: Prisoner List – Civil War 244
Notes 266
Bibliography 286
Picture Credits 312
Index 313
