Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington, 1923, undated
Scope and Contents
This collection contains materials collected by Loretta Clarke Murray relating to the fight for Irish Independence, particularly materials belonging to women who fought for the cause. Included are materials by and about Cumann na mBan, Máire Gill, Maud Gonne, Countess Constance Markievicz, Helena Molony, Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington, and Margaret Skinnider in the form of correspondence, photographs, meeting minutes, autograph books of female prisoners, and handbills. Of note are an embroidered banner made by Gonne and a journal chronicling Skinnider’s participation in the 1916 Easter Rising.
Other materials are related to the women’s personal and artistic pursuits. Materials from Cuala Industries, from both the printing and embroidery departments, are included. Gill’s papers include photographs, correspondence, and other materials relevant to her involvement with camogie, as well as her work as a printer for Cuala Press. The collection also contains photographs and articles about Elizabeth Corbet Yeats’ management of Cuala Industries and watercolor landscapes by Yeats. Irish arts are further documented through jewelry, including Tara-inspired brooches worn by Inghinidhe na hÉireann members, etchings by Estella Frances Solomons, and a watercolor by Michael MacLiammoir inspired by a W.B. Yeats poem.
Bean na hÉireann: Monthly magazine published by the organization Inghinidhe na hÉireann.
Cumann na mBan: League of Women; An Irish republican women's organization.
Cumann Camógaíochta na nGael: The name of the Camogie Association from 1939 until 2010.
Cumann na Saoirse: The League for Freedom; The women’s organization created after Cumann na mBan split.
Dáil Éireann: Assembly of Ireland; The parliament of the Irish Republic from 1919 to 1922.
Inghinidhe na hÉireann: An Irish republican women’s organization founded by Maud Gonne and later merged with Cumann na mBan.
Sinn Féin: Irish republican political party.
Dates
- Creation: 1923, undated
Creator
- From the Collection: Murray, Loretta Clarke (Died 2017 April 10) (Collector, Person)
- From the Collection: Cuala Press (Organization)
- From the Collection: Cumann na mBan (Organization)
- From the Collection: Gill, Maire, 1891-1977 (Person)
- From the Collection: Gonne, Maud, 1866-1953 (Person)
- From the Collection: Markievicz, Constance de, 1868-1927 (Person)
- From the Collection: Molony, Helena, 1883-1967 (Person)
- From the Collection: Sheehy-Skeffington, Hanna (1877-1946) (Person)
- From the Collection: Skinnider, Margaret, 1892-1971 (Person)
- From the Collection: Yeats, Elizabeth Corbet, 1868-1940 (Person)
Language of Materials
This collection includes materials in English, French, and Irish.
Access Note
Collection is open for research; portions of the collection available digitally.
Biographical note
Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington was born on May 24, 1877, in County Cork, Ireland. Her father was David Sheehy, a Land Leaguer and Irish Parliamentary Party Member of Parliament. In 1903 she married Francis Skeffington.
As supporters of women’s rights, the Sheehy-Skeffingtons co-founded the Irish Women’s Franchise League, a militant suffrage organization, in 1908 with Margaret Cousins. Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington was also one of the founding members of the Irish Women’s Workers Union. She also wrote for the Irish Citizen, a paper she started with Francis. In 1912, Sheehy-Skeffington was arrested for throwing rocks at Dublin Castle’s windows in a protest for women’s rights and was imprisoned again in 1913 for protesting against Edward Carson.
During the 1916 Easter Rising, Francis, a pacifist, was arrested while attempting to stop looting and was executed by a firing squad without a trial on the orders of British army captain John Bowen-Colthurst. Bowen-Colthurst was later court martialed and sent to an asylum, but was released after eighteen months.
Sheehy-Skeffington published a pamphlet, “British Militarism As I Have Known It,” in 1917, which detailed her husband’s murder and the aftermath. Until 1918, she toured the United States, giving lectures on her story. Her pamphlet went on to be re-published many times.
In 1946, Sheehy-Skeffington ran unsuccessfully for the Dáil Éireann with the Women’s Social and Progressive League.
She died on April 20, 1946.
Sources
Butler, Leah. "Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington: The Life and Times of the Great Irish Suffragette." Women's Museum of Ireland | Articles | Kathleen Clarke. Accessed June 28, 2018. http://womensmuseumofireland.ie/articles/hanna-sheehy-skeffington.
Devlin, Martina. "Born Fighter: Irish Feminist Hanna Sheehy Skeffington." Independent.ie. October 13, 2017. Accessed June 28, 2018. https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/books/book-reviews/born-fighter-irish-feminist-hanna-sheehy-skeffington-36222445.html.
Rosenbusch, Anne. "HANNA SHEEHY SKEFFINGTON / Suffragette & Republican." Herstory. Accessed June 28, 2018. http://www.herstory.ie/news/2017/4/27/hanna-sheehy-skeffington-suffragette-republican.
Full Extent
0.5 Linear Feet (1 container)
Repository Details
Part of the John J. Burns Library Repository
John J. Burns Library
Boston College
140 Commonwealth Avenue
Chestnut Hill MA 02467 USA
617-552-4861
burns@bc.libanswers.com