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A NEW EXHIBITION of photographs, portraits and propaganda of the Republican leader and suffragette Countess Markievicz has gone on display.
This year is the 100th anniversary since Markievicz became the first woman elected to the House of Commons (but didn’t take her seat due to the Sinn Féin policy of abstentionism).
Markievicz also played a prominent role in the 1916 Rising, was the second woman in the world to hold a Cabinet position, and was an active member of the suffragette movement.
This latest collection is made up from items from the National Gallery of Ireland, the National Museum of Ireland, National Library of Ireland and Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane.
The pieces are juxtaposed to demonstrate “the breadth of Markievicz’s representation over time”, and their different media, the Gallery said.
The exhibition includes an early portrait of Markievicz – a double portrait of her and her sister, Eva Gore-Booth, at their family home in Lissadell, Co Sligo, by Sarah Purser – as well as a painting of Markievicz on her deathbed by her husband, Casimir Dunin Markievicz.
Other pieces include a photo of Markievicz dressed as Joan of Arc, taken from a series of tableaus of powerful women from history, and one in which she appears in Celtic Revivalist costume.
Exhibition curator Donal Maguire said that for many “Constance Markievicz is at once a familiar and mysterious figure”.
“She is of undeniable and widely recognised cultural and political significance, given her role in the history of modern Ireland but retains an air of intrigue to this day.
In curating this exhibition, my objective was to expand people’s understanding of Markievicz by showing the diversity of her image over time, an image that she endeavoured to manage.
‘Markievicz: Portraits & Propaganda’ opens at the National Gallery of Ireland on Saturday 27 October 2018 and runs until Sunday 10 February 2019. Admission is free.
You’ve got to admire the strength of this person. She had “liathroidi”
@Joe Bridgeman: the woman was an egotistical sociopath, she shot Dublin Metropolitan Police officer Michael Lahiff when he simply refused to hand over keys, all she wanted was the fame and notoriety
@Cari Burke: bush and Blair killed millions for less
@Cari Burke: for one thing, it’s not actually accepted that she shot him. For another, plenty of men shot and killed Met Officers and others on that particular day in 1916 and are regarded as some of the biggest heroes in our state. It’s odd that she is regarded differently by so many
@Joe Bridgeman: On balance you have to look at both sides because as a mother she neglected her family in her search for self acclaim. It might seem contradictory to call her a suffragette and not claiming her place at Westminster. On her deathbed she changed religion from Anglican to Catholicism. Whereas her daughter Maeve de Markievicz remained an Anglican and moved to England to escape her mothers fame.
@Chris Kirk: again, just to point out the obvious… none of the men of the 1916 rising are judged on their merits as fathers.
I pass by the house where she lived on leinster road. a house with a lot of history during the lockouts and the rising. and not even a plaque on it to the great woman.
A women who is rolled it everytime to show people women had a till to play button the rising but in reality she was attention seeking women who fantisced about men in uniform and abandon her family to go and take photos of herself in a uniform.. after being captive she then tried to use the very fact she was a women to get released
@Bulmer Hobson: No she didn’t. Another myth. The truth is, the British didn’t have the balls to execute one of their own class and a woman.
The myth is right up there with Dev not being executed because he was a US citizen. Being an US didn’t save Tom Clarke.
@Teresa Ryan: Dev wasn’t executed because, apart from having a breakdown, he didn’t do anything.
@Bulmer Hobson: If that is your real name, it is ironic because I am sure you are aware who the other Bullet Hobson was.
I wonder would you say He was besotted by women in uniform?
Another aristocrat involved in the glorious rising.
I wonder if the penny will ever drop with the mainstream?
My great grandmother knew Countess Markievicz very well even helping to hide weapons for her at one point.
Renowned for her beauty a post says. Plug ugly with a set of rotten gnashers. Love the way pro 1916 republican mythologise their heros.
Interesting… The conflicting stories regarding her interrogation. I’m inclined to believe the more flattering version myself. Many make a big deal about her lineage but was she not only such through marriage to a minor penniless polish count…
Stuff the begrugers. This woman was a selfless, hard working, unpaid champion for justice and rights for everyone. The fact that an British occupation caused some to rise up, rightfully against the occupation, is not a cause for condemnation.
I doubt If any if the begrudgers on here would be willing to sacrifice anything of theirs or themselves for no personal gain.
She looks very masculine to me.
She did a Right number on Willie B..head
@Bob Doran: Willie B was a weird one. Very much into the occult.
Over 20 unarmed civilians were murdered by the rebels. Over 50% of those killed in the rebellion were innocent civilians. All the police killed by the rebels were un armed. Savage times.
Alas, hardly anyone here seems to have visited this exhibition (Room 31 of the National Gallery) which opened at the weekend!
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