Markievicz, Constance Georgina, Countess Markievicz

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Irish socialist, revolutionary, and politician. Founder of Na Fianna, the republican youth organization, in 1909, she joined the Irish Citizen Army and took part in the Easter Rising of 1916; her resulting death sentence was commuted. In 1918 she was elected to Westminster as a Sinn Fein candidate (technically the first British woman MP), but did not take her seat, instead serving as minister for labour in the first Dáil Éireann (then the illegal republican parliament) 1919–22.

Markievicz was prominent in the Gaelic revival before her involvement in nationalist politics. She joined Sinn Fein in 1908 and, during Dublin's industrial unrest in 1913, worked closely with James Connolly as an officer in his Irish Citizen Army. She was also active in the women's movement Inghinidhe nah Éireann, and became honorary president of the Irish Women Workers' Union. She opposed the Anglo-Irish Treaty (1921), which established the Irish Free State within the British Commonwealth, and was elected for Fianna Fáil in 1927 shortly before her death.

Blue stands for peace. The tassel is a symbol of the monarchy. Yellow represents mineral wealth. Red symbolizes battle. Effective date: 30 October 1967. >>