RELATIVES of Irish Suffragette Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington were the guests of honour at the unveiling of a new plaque that was attended by the President of Ireland, Michael D Higgins, last week.
The President, alongside the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Cllr Mícheál Mac Donncha, attended the ceremony at the Ship Street entrance to Dublin Castle, which marks the spot where, in 1916, Hanna smashed windows in protest against votes for women being excluded from the Home Rule Bill for Ireland.
As Micheline Sheehy Skeffington (granddaughter) and Patricia and Jennifer Sheehy Skeffington (great-granddaughters of Hanna) looked on, the Lord Mayor told how it was fitting that Dublin City Council recognise Hanna Sheehy Skeffington’s role in Irish political life by erecting the plaque in her honour.
“Hanna was elected to Dublin Corporation in 1919 and was active in numerous organisations and associations in the city,” he said. “Hanna was Ireland’s best-known suffragette and her actions and agitation directly contributed to Irish women winning the vote in 1918. She was a key leader in the struggle for national independence and social justice.”
To honour the part played by other Irish suffragettes, a list of all the Irish women imprisoned for suffrage activities, provided by Dr Margaret Ward of Queens University, Belfast, was read aloud by members of the Galway Feminist Collective.
The women dressed in period costumes to add to the occasion while displayed behind them was the original Irish Women’s Franchise League banner as used by Hanna and the other Irish suffragettes. This banner was kept by the Sheehy- Skeffington family and recently donated to the National Museum, who kindly agreed to its use.
A Commemorative Naming Committee was established by Dublin City Council to consider and recommend the selection of individuals or events which will be commemorated through the erection of monuments and or plaques. These commemorative plaques provide the city with an opportunity to honour and remember a significant person, group or event and to create a sense of place which is identified as being of great importance to citizens and visitors.
Born on May 24, 1877 in Kanturk, Co Cork, Hanna was the eldest among two sons and four daughters of David Sheehy, mill owner and later nationalist MP, and Elizabeth Sheehy. The family moved to Dublin in 1887 where Hanna was educated at the Dominican Convent, Eccles Street. She went on to graduate from the Royal University of Ireland with an honours BA in modern languages and was awarded an MA in 1902.
Hanna met her future husband Francis (Frank) Skeffington in 1896 and they married in 1903 taking each other’s names as a symbol of the equality of their relationship. Their only child Owen was born in 1908. The couple were committed to many causes, particularly feminism, pacifism, socialism and nationalism.
In 1902 Hanna joined the Irishwomen’s Suffrage and Local Government Association, which campaigned for the vote for women.
