An event to commemorate the women who fought for Irish freedom between 1916 and 1923 takes place at Liberty Hall and the GPO in Dublin.
The role of women who fought in the 1916 Rising, the War of Independence and the Civil War is commemorated with a ceremony and parade organised by the Dublin North Inner City Folklore Project. The event organisers claim the stories of women who played a central role in the struggle for Irish independence have been airbrushed out of history.
Bernie Walsh, whose grandmother was a member of Cumann na mBan explains women were deeply involved with a wide range of roles including intelligence, combat and smuggling guns and ammunition.
On Palm Sunday 1916 at Liberty Hall, 14 year old Molly O’Reilly hoisted a green flag with a gold harp above the building. On Easter Monday 2007, her grand niece Grace re-enacts that ceremony, paying tribute to Molly and the hundreds of other women who fought for Irish freedom between the years 1916 and 1923.
Molly O’Reilly’s niece Kathleen O’ Reilly is impressed by the bravery of her aunt.
One minute she was afraid of James Connolly because she broke a window, and the next minute she was afraid of nothing else.
Kathleen O’ Reilly is proud of her heritage,
It’s great to think that I come from those people.
Women dressed in period costume and uniforms lead a parade from Liberty Hall to the General Post Office (GPO) for a wreath-laying ceremony and short addresses by contemporary activists and descendants of the women. At the GPO is Marion Murphy whose mother Mary Murphy was in Liberty Hall with James Connolly in 1916. She was a messenger and also carried out nursing duties in the pro-Cathedral.
The women have never been recognised, no.
The organisers of this event hope the women who fought for Irish freedom will continue to be remembered in the years to come. Eventually they hope the stories of these forgotten women will be rewritten into Irish history.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 9 April 2007. The reporter is Samantha Libreri.
