Derry women activists mark Cumann na mBan centenary

IN AN EVENING that saw Derry republicans come together to mark the centenary of the founding of Cumann na mBan, the links between those Irish women revolutionaries and present-day activists was drawn.

The panel consisted of young women who have become involved in Sinn Féin in recent years and some with many years of activity behind them.

Each with their own experiences and stories to tell underlined the truism articulated by Bobby Sands when he said that each of us has our own part to play.

Mary Nelis (who was at the forefront of community activism and who campaigned on the streets advocating prisoners’ rights for many years) spoke, as did former POW Rose McCartney.

Rose McCartney’s account of life in Armagh Women’s Prison was particularly moving as she remembered how a young Máire Drumm reacted on hearing, through a radio news bulletin, of her mother’s assassination.

Martina Anderson MEP recounted her time in Durham Prison in England as well as Maghaberry Jail where, before her release, she achieved a First Class Honours Degree.

But it was the tribute to local members of Cumann na mBan, in the period from 1914 to 1922, that gave the evening its genuine historical context.

A photograph of Volunteer Elizabeth Doherty was placed centre-stage for the duration.

Elizabeth ‘Lizzie’ Doherty was born in 35 Waterloo Street, Derry, in 1898. She was an active member of the Cumann na mBan and was fully involved in republican activities at that revolutionary time.

Her home became a safe house and was also used for meetings.

She received the ‘Irish War of Independence’ medal also known as the ‘Black and Tan medal’, and the 1966 Commemorative 50th Anniversary Medal. Two of her brothers were also in the IRA.

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