An Cosantóir

www.military.ie the defence forces magazine | 27 by PAUL O'BRIEN 'We came into being to advance the cause of Irish Liberty ... We feel bound to make the pronouncement that to urge or encourage Irish Volunteers to enlist in the British army cannot, under any circum- stances, be regarded as consistent with the work we have set ourselves to do.' During the 1916 Easter Rising, the organisation played an active, though non-combatant role. While women members of the Irish Citizen Army gathered at Liberty Hall, the women of Cumann na mBan were left searching for outposts to join. According to Julia Grennan: 'The Volunteers were not taking any notice of us, did not care whether we were there or not.' Other Cumann na mBan members were turned away from garrisons until a directive was sent from headquarters that women were to be accepted. They acted as couriers, nurses and spies, and often came under fire from British troops. Four days after the commence- ment of the Rising, Patrick Pearse gathered the women telling them they deserved a foremost place in the his- tory of the nation before asking them to leave as his position was becom- ing untenable. Only three women remained at the time of the surrender, the notification of which was delivered by Nurse Elizabeth O'Farrell, a member of Cummann na mBan. Of 77 women arrested most were members of the Irish Citizen Army. While the men were in prison in the aftermath of the Rising, the women, in the words of Cathal Brugha, 'kept the spirit alive and the flag flying'. They commenced an important propaganda campaign, fomenting what was to become known as 'the cult of the dead' by organising a number of events to commemorate the executed leadership of the insurrection. It was these type of events that turned the tide of public opinion and the newly formed Irish Re- publican Army slowly began to receive support from the populace. During the War of Independence (1919-1921), in which the IRA fought a guerrilla campaign against British forces in Ireland, the members of Cu- mann na mBan, which then numbered approximately 3,000, were described as the 'eyes and ears' for the men. The women's activities led increasingly to the authorities arresting and imprison- ing them and by the summer of 1921, when a ceasefire was called, 50 women had been arrested, including prominent members of the organisation, such as Eithne Coyle. When the Treaty was brought back to the Dáil to be ratified in 1921, Cumann na mBan was the first organisation to reject it, voting 419 to 63 against its ratification. The rejection of the Treaty saw the departure of moderates from Cumann na mBan and mass arrests commenced in 1922 and continued through the Civil War. Over 400 members of Cumann na mBan were imprisoned under appalling conditions in Kilmainham and Mountjoy jails and the North Dublin Union. As the war came to an end, the prisoners were released, many of them suffering from illness due to the prison conditions. Though the organisation continued to exist, many members sought to leave the country and start a new life abroad. For many, the repub- lic they had fought for had not been realised and though many supported the newly established Fianna Fáil party, others chose to disappear and never speak about their involvement in one of the most remarkable organisations the country has ever produced. Names such as May zambra, Ella Young, the Ryan sisters, Elizabeth and Jane Robinson, Margaret Power, Brighid O'Mullane, Elizabeth O'Farrell, Teresa O'Connell, Rose O'Donnell, Helena Molony, Lily O'Brennan, Brighid Lyons and Mollie Gill, to name but a few, were all consigned to the dusty annals of libraries and museums, forgotten by generations but who are now being recognised and remembered for their achievements and for being women of substance. About the author: Paul O'Brien is a regular contributor to An Cosantóir, and a recent winner of the European Military Publisher As- sociation's (EMPA) Best Article (2013) award for 'At the Gates of hell – Mali'. He has carried out extensive research in relation to Irish and British military deploy- ments during the Easter Rising and has written a num- ber of works focus- ing on the military aspects of the Rising. oF SuBStaNCE A selection of documents and certificates released by Cumann na mBan. Members never shied away from military actions and were an integral part of the War of Independence.

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