An Cosantóir

www.military.ie the defence forces magazine | 19 both Cumann na mBan and the ICA, she marched to the GPO armed 'with a gun and a typewriter'. More women made their way to the building later, including Leslie Price, Lucy Agnes Smyth, Elizabeth O'Farrell and Julia Grenan, who had been delivering dispatches around the country that morning. In the Four Courts area, members of Colmcille and Central branches present- ed themselves for duty. Pauline Morkan and her sister-in-law, Phyllis Morkan, made their way to Church Street and during the fighting they helped to care for the wounded in Father Mathew Hall, which Edward Daly had turned into a hospital. The women of the ICA were also divided into two sections. One, under the command of Michael Mallin, went to Stephen's Green, while the other, with Captain Seán Connolly, went to City Hall. Dr Kathleen Lynn, promoted to cap- tain by James Connolly, served as the ICA Medical Officer with the City Hall garrison, which suffered its first casualty soon after entering the building when Seán Connolly was fatally wounded by a British sniper. Helena Molony and Brigid Davis, who were with him, did all they could to save him but to no avail. Outnumbered and outgunned, the garrison came under intense fire. Nine women fought in City Hall and as the senior officer re- maining, Dr Lynn offered the surrender on Tuesday, after which the garrison were taken to Ship Street Barracks. The other section of ICA women and some members of the Fairview Branch, Cumann na mBan, including Nora O'Daly, helped secure Stephen's Green, and, under the command of Madeleine ffrench Mullen, set up a first aid station in the summer house. Countess Markievicz, second- in-command to Michael Mallin, over- saw the digging of trenches. As Mallin lacked enough men to take over the surrounding high buildings, British soldiers were able to take up positions in the Shelbourne Hotel and numerous other build- ings on the Monday night and open fire. Realising their position was untenable, Mallin ordered the evacuation of the Green and took over the College of Surgeons. In her book, Doing My Bit For Ireland, Margaret Skinnider wrote that during the evacuation the women in par- ticular came under fire from the soldiers, as they 'made excellent targets in their white dresses, with large red crosses on them'. Skinnider, herself, was shot while attempting to set alight a building on Harcourt Street in a bid to remove British soldiers from their positions. Although she was hit three times, once in the spine, she mi- raculously survived. The Marrowbone Lane garrison was also com- ing under heavy attack as the distillery was a vital outpost protecting the SDU and commanding a view of all possible approaches. On Tuesday three girls left the distillery, leaving 21 women there. The military tried to gain entry but were driven back again and again. The Volunteers had snipers posted all over the complex, especially in the upper floors, and while the women's main tasks involved looking after the garrison, they also stepped up to the mark when required. Josie O'Keeffe was with Rob- ert Holland in an upper floor overlooking the canal and remained by his side reloading his guns as he fired volley after volley into the advancing soldiers. Many women were sent from the GPO to assist in various out- posts throughout the week, including Leslie Price (Central Branch), who was sent to Reis's Jewellers where she served with four other women. Leslie was with Captain Thomas Weafer when he was killed on the Wednesday. (In her Bureau of Military History witness state- ment, Leslie stated: "I remember doing what I could for him and saying an Act of Contrition in his ear." Returning to the GPO, Leslie and Bríd Dixon brought dispatches and ammunition to Daly in Church Street. (In her witness statement she recalled: "We had done our midnight job so well and got back so easily that Seán MacDermott said up in the dining-room that we were to be treated as officers. We were promoted in the field." On Thursday, Tom Clarke asked Leslie to fetch a priest. By now O'Connell Street was being shelled and Leslie made her way under heavy fire to the Pro-Cathedral, locating Fr Michael O'Flanagan and bringing him safely back to the GPO. By Friday the building was becoming untenable and Pearse called the women into the main hall and asked them to leave. They pro- tested but he would not relent. According to Julia Grenan he said: "It was a request, now it is an order." Apart from three women chosen to stay, Elizabeth O'Farrell, Julia Grenan and Winifred Carney, the remainder left in two sections. Accompanied by a priest they took the wounded to Jervis Street Hospital, where British soldiers soon arrived and the women were taken into custody. Among the women serving with Commandant Daly in Fr Mathew Hall and then the Four Courts were Brighid Lyons, Rose McGuinness, Anna Fahy, and Louisa and Mary O'Sullivan. Early on Wednesday, Ly- ons and Annie Derham were sent to assist Peadar Clancy at Church Street, where they treated the wounded and remained until they heard of Pearse's surrender. When Pearse surrendered to General Lowe on Saturday 29th April, Elizabeth O'Farrell stood beside him. It fell to O'Farrell to de- liver Pearse's surrender order to the remaining garrisons, which she successfully did, despite the dangers, after which she was arrested and taken to Kilmainham Gaol. Seventy-seven women were imprisoned after the Rising. One, Countess Markievicz, was sentenced to death; later commuted to penal servitude for life. They were held in Richmond Barracks and later Kilmainham Gaol, during which time they heard the execu- tions of their leaders. Most were released after ten days. High among the terrible mistakes the British government made in the aftermath of the Rising was underestimating the women who had participated. For these women the Easter Rising was a test; training for what was to follow. They had proved they were more than mere support to their male comrades: they were equal. In the War of Independence and Civil War they showed just how vital they were in their roles as intelligence operatives, propagandists, nurses, doctors, comrades. Without them the revolution simply would not have succeeded. These women proved not only that they were soldiers, they were experts in the art of revolution. Michael Mallin and Countess Markievicz being arrested in 1916. Photo: Michael Curran/National Museum of Ireland Countess Markievicz sitting under guard in a Red Cross ambulance with a nurse, 1916. Photo: National Library of Ireland/South Dublin Libraries

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