Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington


In 1908 Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington and her husband Francis formed the Irish Women’s Franchise League (IWFL) to campaign for women’s voting rights. Sheehy-Skeffington had initially been a member of the IWSLGA but felt it was not making real headway. As a university graduate, she was very involved in the promotion of education for girls and women, and wrote a number of articles on this topic and others for Bean na hÉireann.


The IWFL met with strong resistance from the Home Rule movement. John Dillon told Sheehy- Skeffington: ‘Women’s suffrage will, I believe, be the ruin of our western civilisation. It will destroy the home, challenging the headship of man, laid down by God. It may come in your time – I hope not in mine.’


John Redmond also said that he was not prepared to allow women to vote or stand for election in a Home Rule parliament. Faced with such opposition, some women turned to more violent actions to get their demands noticed. Sheehy-Skeffington was sentenced to three months in prison for throwing stones at Dublin Castle; she also lost her teaching job as a result. Sheehy-Skeffington was only one of several women who were arrested for their militant tactics during the lifetime of the organisation.


Irish Women Workers’ Union


The feminist movement also highlighted the significant differences that existed between male and female workers. Women began to take part in the trade union movement to protect the rights of women in the workplace and tackle their low wages and poor conditions. On 5 September 1911 Delia Larkin (sister of James Larkin) established the Irish Women Workers’ Union (IWWU). James Larkin was appointed president of the union and Delia was the union’s secretary.


Rosie Hackett.


One of the most notable members of the IWWU was Rosie Hackett. She worked as a messenger in Jacob’s factory, and in 1911 supported her male colleagues by joining them in a sympathetic strike. Many female employees joined the men in the Lockout of 1913. Connolly’s Irish Citizen Army, set up to protect workers during the Lockout, gave women equal membership to men. Its most famous female member was Countess Constance Markievicz. Women also assisted workers during the Lockout when the IWFL set up soup kitchens to give food to workers and their families.


Women Workers’ Union.


94


LEAVING CERTIFICATE HISTORY


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