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Early Life
Elizabeth O’Farrell was born on the 5th of November 1884 in city Quay Dublin, she was the daughter of Christopher O'Farrell a dock labourer and Margaret Kenneah a housekeeper. She was educated by the sisters of mercy. Her father died when she was young and she was sent to work. She took a job in Armstrong's, a printers in Amiens Street. She was a member of the Sacred Heart and Total Abstinence sodalities. After education she became a midwife and joined the national maternity hospital Holles street. She was a part of the Gaelic League and became fluent in Irish. In 1906 she joined Inghinidhe na hÉireann alongside lifelong friend Julia Grenan. She also then joined Cumnan na mBan the women’s branch of the Irish volunteers after its establishment in 1914.

Aftermath
Under the orders of Padraig Pearse, O’Farrell agreed and volunteered to deliver the order of surrender  to the Volunteer and Citizen Army units at the Four Courts, the College of Surgeons, Boland's mill and Jacob's factory. Under the instruction of General Lowe she headed down Moore Street where republican troops from the GPO had taken over. The surrender order was given alongside with a note on how to surrender. She was given General Lowes word that she would not be held as a prisoner after delivering these orders. O’Farrell was then taken to the Dublin Castle hospital where she was stripped of her clothing and processions and stayed for one night. The following day she was taken to Ship Street barracks, she was informed was to be sent to Kilmainham jail and held as a prisoner. O’Farrell and some other prisoners were escorted to Richmond barracks it was then when O’Farrell noticed Fr. Columbus of Church Street who has accompanied her to the four courts on the evening of April 29th. He told her he would let General Lowe know of her situation. After being sent to Kilmainham jail she was later released. General Lowe sent a car for O’Farrell to be taken to Dublin castle where she was to meet him. General Lowe apologized for her detainment and provided her with a letter in case of any further trouble with the military. This finalized O’Farrell’s involvement in relation to the surrender.

Cumann na mBan
Set up in April of 1914, Cumann na mBan was established to "advance the cause of Irish liberty and to organize Irishwomen in the furtherance of this object". Members of the organisation varied from professional women, working class women and white-collar workers. The organisation played a significant role in the Rising. On the day of the Rising, representatives of the Cumann na mBan had entered the GPO (General Post Office) on O'Connell street while in possession of firearms. A lot of the women involved with Cumann na mBan during the Rising worked as Red Cross workers along with other jobs, such as aiding the carrying out of retrieving important information on scout endeavors and also with the trafficking of weapons to households that were heavily involved in the Rising.

After the British had outflanked the Irish and forced them to retreat, members of the Cumman na mBan had helped with evacuating those remaining in the buildings that were being surrendered and also helped destroy documents that would have been of great use to the British at the time, which proved to be very significant. After sustaining heavy fire from bombs and artillery, leaders at the General Post Office decided that it was time to wave the white flag. Elizabeth O'Farrell was called upon to act as a go-between during the surrender by Patrick Pearse. With the supervision of British military units, Elizabeth O'Farrell had delivered Pearse's surrender order to the opposing units that remained in Dublin at the time.

Many members of the Cumann na mBann lost their lives representing the organisation and some were even sent to Kilmainham for fighting during the Rising. After just over two weeks, all twelve members of the Cumann na mBann were released from Kilmainham on the 8th May, 1916.

Airbrushed from history
O'Farrell acted as a messenger between Pearse and General Lowe during the surrender. She left the GPO carrying a white flag for protection. Once she had delivered the message, she was directed to bring Pearse to General Lowe and to unconditionally surrender.

One of the most well-known images from the 1916 Rising is the surrender of Pearse facing General Lowe on Saturday, 29th April 1916. Just before the photograph was taken, O'Farrell stepped back. In the original photograph, O'Farrell's feet are visible next to Pearse. Over years of publishing, the photograph has slightly changed. Today, despite O'Farrell's large role in this part of history, Elizabeth O'Farrell is often remembered for being forgotten as she has been removed from more recent editions of the photograph.

This photograph was published 10 days later after the surrender in the Daily Sketch Newspaper with the deletion of O'Farrell's feet. Although it is unclear as to why O'Farrell has been edited out of the picture at this time, later publications often used the original picture to remember her role in the surrender.

In 1996, Neil Jordan's Michael Collins also depicts a different story of the surrender with a male role delivering the surrender. O'Farrell was again omitted.

Life after the Rising
O'Farrell spent the rest of life working as a midwife and nurse in the National Maternity Hospital. Elizabeth died on June 25, 1957 while on holiday in Fatima House in Bray, Co. Wicklow and she is buried in the Glasnevin Cemetery next to Julia Grenan in the republican plot.

Commemoration
After her death, the Nurse Elizabeth O'Farrell Foundation was established in 1967 to help support nursing postgraduate studies. A memorial plaque was also unveiled in Holles Street Hospital where she trained as a midwife from 1920 to 1921. Every year, the hospital awards a student the 'Elizabeth O'Farrell' commemorative award which is a silver medal awarded to a student midwife who exceeds academically in their final exams for qualification as a midwife.

In 2003 another plaque was unveiled in City Quay park commemorating her. O'Farrell was born close by to this area. In 2012, what was originally the City Quay park, is now known as the Elizabeth O'Farrell park on Sir John Rogersons Quay, Dublin. Below an image of the park's plaque can be seen.

In 2016, RTE aired a series giving insight into the Rising for its 100 year anniversary. The series Cláracha Gaeilge, Réabhlóid aired four episodes with the final one commemorating Nurse O'Farrell. Episode 4 - 'Famous and Invisible' tells the story of Elizabeth O'Farrell's role in the surrender and looks at how she was airbrushed out from the original image of the surrender. The episode looks at lesser known characters of 1916 including Elizabeth O'Farrell.