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Cumann na Saoirse

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Cumann na Saoirse
FounderJennie Wyse Power
FoundedMarch 1922 (1922-03)
DissolvedMay 1923 (1923-05)
Split fromCumann na mBan
HeadquartersIreland
Ideology

Cumann na Saoirse (The League for Freedom) was an Irish republican women's organisation formed in Dublin in 1922, following a split in Cumann na mBan.

History

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On 7 January 1922 the Anglo-Irish Treaty was approved by the Second Dáil by a close vote of 64–57. On 5 February a convention was held to discuss this, and 419 Cumann na mBan members voted against as opposed to 63 in favour. The Pro-Treaty women, headed by Jennie Wyse Power set up Cumann na Saoirse to replace Cumann na mBan in March 1922.[1] Some of those who supported the Treaty changed the name of their branches to Cumann na Saoirse, while others retained their name but gave allegiance to the Free State Government.[2]

By July 1923, the Irish Civil War having ended, the organisation was ready to dissolve itself.[3] It enquired to Richard Mulcahy about transferring membership to an Irish Red Cross, but no such society was set up until 1939.[3]

References

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  1. ^ Field Day Anthology of Irish Writing vol. 5, p. 122
  2. ^ Conlon, pp. 268–270
  3. ^ a b Lehane, Shane (2019). A History of the Irish Red Cross. Four Courts Press. p. 44. ISBN 9781846827877.

Sources

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  • Conlon, Lil (1969). Cumann na mBan and the Women of Ireland 1913–1925. Kilkenny: Kilkenny People.
  • Boylan, Henry, (ed.), A Dictionary of Irish Biography (Dublin 1999).
  • Ward, Margaret, 'Marginality and Militancy: Cumann na mBan, 1914-1936', in Austen Morgan and Bob Purdie (eds.), Ireland: Divided Nation, Divided Class (London 1980).
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"Cumann na Saoirse". Points for Canvassers. Cumann na Saoirse. 1922. Retrieved 30 March 2015.