Irish Nationalist Women, 1900–1918
Cambridge University Press, 12/5/2013
EAN 9781107047747, ISBN10: 1107047749
Hardcover, 306 pages, 22.9 x 15.2 x 1.9 cm
Language: English
This is a major new history of the experiences and activities of Irish nationalist women in the early twentieth century, from learning and buying Irish to participating in armed revolt. Using memoirs, reminiscences, letters and diaries, Senia Pašeta explores the question of what it meant to be a female nationalist in this volatile period, revealing how Irish women formed nationalist, cultural and feminist groups of their own as well as how they influenced broader political developments. She shows that women's involvement with Irish nationalism was intimately bound up with the suffrage movement as feminism offered an important framework for women's political activity. She covers the full range of women's nationalist activism from constitutional nationalism to republicanism, beginning in 1900 with the foundation of Inghinidhe na hÉireann (Daughters of Ireland) and ending in 1918 with the enfranchisement of women, the collapse of the Irish Party and the ascendancy of Sinn Fein.
Introduction
1. The movement
2. Daughter of Ireland
3. Politics, theatre and dissent
4. Old nationalism
5. New nationalisms
6. Social activism
7. Loaded with sedition
8. The fight
9. After the Rising
10. Feminism and republicanism
11. Triumph and disenchantment
Epilogue.
'Based on extensive archival research, Irish Nationalist Women, 1900–1918 effectively reassesses the significance and diversity of female constitutional and radical nationalism. Set against the backdrop of one of the most pivotal periods in Ireland's modern history, it provides new insights into women's politicking before they possessed the right to vote and stand as MPs.' Diane Urquhart, University of Liverpool
'Senia Pašeta complicates and deepens our understanding of politics in a formative period in Irish history. This is a nuanced analysis of nationalism and feminism which at once is challenging and insightful. Drawing on a substantial body of archival material this book will stimulate debate and prompt further discussion on a fascinating period of Irish history.' Maria Luddy, University of Warwick
'This work transforms our understanding of the relationship between the suffrage movement and Irish nationalism in the years 1900–18. Drawing on a wide range of new sources, Pašeta shows that suffrage was at the heart of revolutionary nationalism, and that the polarisation between feminism and nationalism has been overstated.' Mary Daly, University College Dublin
'An important book...a history that deepens our understanding of the entire period.' Irish Times