While we have seen a few sculptures by female sculptors on this tour so far, there are not many statues of real women in Dublin. This is one of a small few, a statue of Countess Constance Markievicz along with her dog Poppet. You can see a photo of Markievicz and Poppet from 1917 to compare.
Countess Constance Markievicz was an Irish revolutionary, suffragette, and the first woman elected to the Westminster Parliament, and one of the first female cabinet ministers in Europe.
Born into an aristocratic family, she embraced nationalism and socialism, joining Sinn Féin. She played a key role in the 1916 Easter Rising with the Irish Citizen Army and was sentenced to death, which was later commuted.
Refusing to take her seat in Westminster, she served as Minister for Labour in the revolutionary Irish government. The fourth image shows Markievicz arriving at Dáil Éireann (the Irish parliament) in December 1921.
Markievicz remains a symbol of Ireland’s fight for independence and women’s involvement in politics.
Read more about Countess Markievicz in this story.
This 1998 statue of Markievicz is by Elizabeth McLaughlin, a sculptor from Northern Ireland. It is located outside a sports centre also named for Markievicz. There is also a bust of Markievicz in Saint Stephen's Green park.
Continue to the next stop by taking the first right into Tara Street and continuing onwards, crossing Butt Bridge. The next statue is ahead, across the street on the right.
Image credits:
Constance Markievicz statue, © O'Dea, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA
Constance Markievicz with dog, 1917, A. H. Poole, Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain
Markievicz and McGuinness, TopFoto, In copyright
Countess Markievicz Statue, Fáilte Ireland, Dublin City Library and Archive, CC BY-NC-ND
