Markievicz, Constance de, 1868-1927

Variant names

Dates:

Birth 1868-02-04

Death 1927-07-15

Biographical notes:

Constance (Gore-Booth) de Markievicz was born in London on February 4, 1868, the elder daughter of Arctic explorer and adventurer Sir Henry Gore-Booth and Lady Georgina (Hill) Gore-Booth. In 1892, Markievicz attended the Slade School of Art in London to study painting; it was at this time that she first became politically active and joined the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS). Later, she moved to Paris and enrolled at the Académie Julian where she met her future husband, Casimir Markievicz. The two were married in London on September 29, 1900, and she gave birth to their daughter, Maeve, in November 1901.

In 1908, Constance de Markievicz became actively involved in nationalist politics in Ireland. She joined Sinn Féin and Inghinidhe na hÉireann (Daughters of Ireland), a revolutionary women's movement. Markievicz also joined James Connolly's socialist Irish Citizen Army (ICA), a volunteer force formed to defend demonstrating workers from the police. As a member of the Citizen Army, Markievicz took part in the 1916 Easter Rising and served as second-in-command to Michael Mallin at St. Stephen's Green. Following the failure of the Rising, Markievicz was sentenced to death, but the court sentence was commuted to life in prison. She was released from prison in 1917, along with others involved in the Rising, was jailed again in 1918 for her part in anti-conscription activities, and was later released.

In the 1918 general election, Markievicz was elected as Teachta Dála for the constituency of Dublin St Patrick's. This made her the first woman elected to the House of Commons, and she served as a Member of Parliament for Dublin St Patrick's from 1918 to 1922. Markievicz also served as Minister for Labour from April 1919 to January 1922, in the Second Ministry and the Third Ministry of the Dáil. Markievicz left the government in January 1922 in opposition to the Anglo-Irish Treaty, and worked actively for the republican cause in the Irish Civil War. In 1926, she left Sinn Féin and became a founding member of the Fianna Fáil party. Markievicz died on July 15, 1927 of complications after two appendicitis operations.