Dublin City Council committee votes to erect a plaque to commemorate the Irish woman who attempted to assassinate Benito Mussolini.
Violet Gibson (1876-1956), was a Dubliner who, on 7 April 1926, shot Benito Mussolini, then Italy's Prime Minister and head of the National Fascist Party, during a public appearance in Rome. Although Victoria Gibson fired twice, Mussolini survived with only a superficial wound after turning his head at the last moment. The first bullet graze his nose while the second shot misfired.
Dublin City Council commemoration committee has unanimously agreed to install a plaque at 12 Merrion Square, the childhood home of Victoria Gibson.
Councillor Mannix Flynn praises Victoria Gibson as an anti‑fascist revolutionary and a committed pacifist. He argues that her actions and principles make her deserving of official remembrance. She and others like her sought to strike a blow against tyranny.
Victoria Gibson was arrested, but Mussolini permitted her deportation to Britain. From a privileged Anglo‑Irish family with deep ties to the British establishment, she was committed to a psychiatric hospital in England. She remained there for the rest of her life, and repeated appeals for her release were ignored.
Violet Gibson languished in a psychiatric hospital in England, and she is buried on the hospital grounds.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 25 March 2021. The reporter is John Kilraine.
