Irish Republican Women in America: Lectures During Their United States Tours, 1916-1925

Irish republican women conducted lecture tours in the USA from 1916 to 1925 - Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington, Mary MacSwiney, Mrs Muriel MacSwiney, Countess Constance Markievicz, and Mrs Margaret Pearse. This work examines the role of women, and of Irish-Americans, in the 1916 Easter Rising, Irish War of Independence, and Irish Civil War, and Irish-American organizations and leadership. Each woman set aside their own activities to work for Irish nationalism. The resistance they encountered in the USA was met with courage and tenacity. These women were successful in their contributions to their cause even after the split in the Irish-American community as a result of the confusion caused by the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty. Each tour reflected the political situation on both sides of the Atlantic, as indicated by the nervousness of the US and British governments. The political astuteness and success of Irish republican women during this period far out-distanced them from the political achievements of women in other parts of the world.