Cumann na mBan & Women in Irish Republican Paramilitary Organisations, 1969-1986

Abstract

1. Introduction The year 2014 marked centenary of founding Cumann na mBan, Irish Republican women's organisation. On April 5, 1914, over 100 women attended a meeting of what was to become Cumann na mBan in Wynn's Hotel, Dublin, presided over by Agnes O'Farrelly. The formation of a Republican women's organisation succeeded founding of male-only Irish Volunteers. The organisation played an active role during 1916 rising, although it had split less than two years earlier into pro- and anti-Redmond factions. (1) Since members of Cumann na mBan were not allowed to carry weapons, some of their activists joined ranks of James Connolly's Irish Citizen Army to take an active part in fighting. The group reorganised following Rising, establishing hundreds of branches in all 32 Counties of Ireland as well as abroad. Nonetheless, during Treaty debates, Cumann na mBan split again. Thereupon, end of civil war marks beginning of a weakening of organisation. A few years later, again, a significant section followed Constance Markievicz and Eamonn de Valera into 1926-formed Fianna Fail party (Conlon1969; Matthews 2010 & 2012; McCarthy 2007; Ni Chathmhaoil and Reinisch 2014; Ward 1983: 119-247). While first decade of its existence was most active and most influential in history of Cumann na mBan, organisation continued to play a significant role in Republican Movement in later decades. Regardless of their activism in Republican Movement, official commemorations marking centenary of Cumann na mBan neglect existence of women's organisation in these later decades. Indeed unsurprisingly, Mary McAuliffe's memorial address at Glasnevin Cemetery ends with decline of Cumann na mBan in 1923. (2) Additionally, it has been claimed that Cumann na mBan ceased to exist during 1970s and 1980s. This claim was first raised in an Irish News article back in 1993 and was subsequently strongly opposed by Cumann na mBan at that time. (Ni Chathmhaoil and Reinisch 2014: 102f.) It was repeated in a report about Cumann na mBan centenary event in paper An Phoblacht/Republican News in April 2014. (3) * * Certainly, only few researchers acknowledge contribution by Cumann na mBan to Republican Movement during recent conflict in North of Ireland. One of these is Theresa O'Keefe. In a recently published study on Republican feminism, she argues: Nonetheless, over years Cumann na mBan had become an autonomous body, adopting its own constitution and engaging in its own military activities. There remained, however, a high level of cooperation between Cumann na mBan and [Irish Republican] Army. Often they worked on same assignment under direction of leadership of IRA (O'Keefe 2013: 92). While O'Keefe's study is an important contribution to Republican women's activism and Republican feminism in North of Ireland, it provides little data on Cumann na mBan itself. In light of this, my article will go further and provide additional data collected through extensive interviews with former and current activists of Cumann na mBan. These data will provide students of contemporary Irish and British history with a clear understanding of who women were that formed Cumann na mBan during so-called Troubles. The conflict in North of Ireland is not only longest war waged in Western hemisphere since 1945 but, according to John Whyte, region is the most heavily researched area on earth (1991: viii). Although this may be true, Republican women have long been neglected by researchers. As a result, Cumann na mBan during this period is largely missing from literature and most of books and articles on recent Irish Republican organisations have not dealt with Cumann n mBan in any depth at all. Contrary, for many years, role played by women in Irish politics and, in particular, Cumann na mBan was neglected. …