Friday is marking the centenary of the 1918 general election in Ireland.
This was the first election at which Irish women were permitted by law to vote and stand in parliamentary elections.
It was also the year the first woman was elected to the British Parliament at Westminster.
Countess Constance Markievicz was one of the two women who stood in the general election, along with Winifred Carney.
Countess Markievicz, who represented a Dublin constituency, never took her seat at Westminster.
Instead, she joined the revolutionary first Dáil - becoming the first female Teachta Dála and the first female minister in Western Europe.
Countess Constance Markievicz | Image via @OireachtasNews on Twitter
She was arrested in November 1923 while attempting to collect signatures for a petition for the release of republican prisoners, and went on hunger strike until she and her fellow prisoners were released just before Christmas.
She joined Fianna Fáil when it was established in 1926 and stood successfully as a Fianna Fáil candidate for Dublin-South at the June 1927 general election.
She was admitted to Sir Patrick Dun's Hospital and died on July 15th 1927.
Winifred Carney stood in a unionist division of Belfast in 1918, and was not elected.
A member of the Irish Citizen Army, she was a close friend and secretary to James Connolly.
Winifred Carney | Courtesy of Kilmainham Gaol Museum
She was in the GPO during Easter 1916 and was interned after the Rising.
She continued to work for the trade union and labour movements, and was critical of the social conservatism of Irish Governments after independence.
Since 1918, over 200 women have been elected to the Dáil.
There are currently 53 women Members of the Houses of the Oireachtas.
To mark the occasion, Leinster House held a mock General Election 1918, based on the Dublin St Stephen's Green constituency
#Dáil100 - if you are in #LeinsterHouse today make sure you join us for mock General Election 1918 based on the Dublin St. Stephen's Green constituency - will the results be any different this time round #seeforyourself #Election18 pic.twitter.com/NAh5dzLbwX
— Oireachtas News (@OireachtasNews) December 14, 2018
While Micheline Skeffington re-enacted her grandmother, Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington, breaking the window at Dublin Castle 100 years ago.
Today 100 years ago Irish women voted for the 1st time. They fought long and hard for this right - let's honour them today by remembering them with awe and gratitude. We stand on the shoulders of giants. #Votail100 #votesforwomen #1918 pic.twitter.com/1TdFOR7bWJ
— Sarah Webb (@sarahwebbishere) December 14, 2018
Sheehy-Skeffington was a highly influential figure during the suffragette movement, and was also active in socialism and Irish independence.
She married Francis Skeffington in 1903.
Both were founder members of the Irish Women's Franchise League in 1908 which fought for women's suffrage.
She was fired from her teaching post in 1912 following her arrest for breaking windows during a militant suffragette protest.
Hanna Sheehy Skeffington | Courtesy of the National Library of Ireland
In 1912 she and her husband founded the Irish Citizen newspaper.
She was active in the labour movement - assisting in the soup kitchen at Liberty Hall in 1913.
After 1918, she remained active in politics and feminism, and campaigned against the 1937 Constitution.
She stood unsuccessfully in the 1943 general election.
The day is also being remembered on Twitter:
"They vote in the shadow of their past, they vote in the light of what will be their new nation" ???????
Eavan Boland's moving poem to mark the centenary of Irish women's suffrage is read by Fiona Shaw in this beautiful video from @RIADawson#votáil100 @irishmissionun pic.twitter.com/WleqsCLMci
— Irish Foreign Ministry (@dfatirl) December 12, 2018
Today we mark centenary #GE1918 - 1st election in Ireland where women had right to vote. #Vótáil100 @OireachtasNews @NGIreland @NMIreland pic.twitter.com/CaPG3xYLMu
— Ivana Bacik (@ivanabacik) December 14, 2018
I've been very fortunate to have served as a Senator, TD, Cabinet Minister and Tánaiste na hÉireann at various points since my own first election in 1992. #Votail100 pic.twitter.com/Lp4R744VyU
— Frances Fitzgerald (@FitzgeraldFrncs) December 14, 2018
Today is the centenary of Ireland's ultimate 'change election' when the Irish people, including women voting for the first time, elected 73 candidates who were committed to establishing a separate Irish parliament which they did in January 1919.
— Daniel Mulhall (@DanMulhall) December 14, 2018
Couldn't walk past the Constance Markievicz statue today without taking a minute. Very grateful to the Irishwomen before me who fought for the freedoms I have today #vote100 #Votail100 pic.twitter.com/0XZ2aWqG5k
— Rachel Flaherty (@rachelfl) December 14, 2018
While Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan hosted a 'Politics Needs Women' conference in the Convention Centre Dublin to celebrate the centenary.
It was to remember the pioneers of the past, recognise the achievements of female public representatives past and present, and provide inspiration and momentum for the future.
