Renegades: Irish Republican Women, 1900-1922

Examines the role and experiences of the women of Cumann na mBan and the Irish Citizens Army, who marched out with the Rebels to challenge the might of the British Empire on Easter Monday 1916. Renegades is a comprehensive account of the tragedies, triumphs, politics and conflicts experienced by Irish women during the country's War of Independence and Civil War. It will shock and possibly disturb any romanticised views of their role in this period of Irish history because the reality of the abuse of women within the general population by both sides in both Wars is absent in most histories of the period. But this the 'war on women', which manifested itself in the form of physical and sexual assaults meant that many women suffered a terror that was not confined to armed conflict. The book also explores the separation of republican women during the Irish War of Independence and Civil War, into two distinct groups. Cumann na mBan members perceived their role to be purely military and so they did not engage in politics. On the other hand the political women, who by this time perceived themselves as the female political elite, were proactive in pursuit of a significant position in Irish politics, especially when the Sinn Féin party was reformed in October 1917. The history of the Irish republican movement is dominated by the story of the men who took up arms in Ireland's fight for freedom against the British. The names of men like Pearse, Connolly, Collins and Barry still resonate today as heroes who won independence for Ireland. However, the critical role of women in this fight for freedom has often been overlooked. Renegades examines the part played by women in the major political and social revolutions that took place from 1900– 1922. It explores the growing separation of republican women into two distinct groups, those active on the military side in Cumann na mBan and those involved on the political side, particularly with Sinn Féin. It also looks at the often ignored 'war on women', which manifested itself in the form of physical and sexual assaults by both sides during the War of Independence, and the fury of female republicans as the political establishment accepted the Anglo-Irish Treaty. In this evocative account, Renegades restores the women of the republican movement to the prominent place they deserve in Irish history.