‘The Women’s Mission’: an examination of Irish women’s political movements in the 19th century and their role in the fight for women’s franchise

Monday, 7th March @ 7pm, online. 

by Dr Ciara Stewart

Register *here*

This lecture will conduct an examination of nineteenth century Irish women’s political movements and how they contributed to the eventual realisation of the vote for certain women in 1918. Often, when discussing women’s franchise, much of the focus is on the militant actions of Twentieth Century organisations, such as the Irish Women’s Franchise League.  Yet, it is vital that we do not ignore the work done by their forebears who, despite not engaging in militant activities, established a political foundation on which women of the twentieth century could later build on. While some of these organisations, such as the Dublin Women’s Suffrage Association, were more conservative than the IWFL, this does not negate their valuable political contributions. In fact, this lecture will argue that women’s roles expanded from, not in absolute opposition to, traditional expectations.

A lecture to mark International Women’s Day on Tuesday 8 March.