User:ElsaTewes/sandbox

Political Activism
Màire Gill's role in Ireland's political activism started with her work at Dun Emer industries, stating that it was an cultural epicentre for change, describing it "“ The Yeats’ mothered and fathered the girls, sent us to the Abbey and the opera. They arranged Irish classes for us.” . It is here that she was taught irish be her teacher and the Fay Brothers that consequently allowed her to join Inghinidhe na hÈireann.

During her time in Inghinidhe na hÈireann, which later merged with Cumann na mBan, she was not a part of the famed Abbey Actresses, but was a part of the tableaux vivants. This action led her to be one of the first members of Cumann na mBan. This group, using sports as a front to hide revolutionary acts, put her into the camoghie scene, which not only led to achievments in the sports arena like becoming their president, but also using it to further the political movement she was in, starting out in Croke’s Football and Hurling Club. The popularity she gave the sport led to the succesful establishment of Cumann Camógaíocht na nGael, allowing for her together with other members to march at the O'Donovan Rossa funeral, essential for it's speech calling for an end of the British rule over Ireland.

The following 1916 Rising has no documentation of Gill's direct involvement, as did a lot of women of the time, but she did play an important figure after the fact. Her direct involvement was visible in the War of independence, earning her a medal.

Her further involvement in Cumann na mBan allowed her to further oppose the Anglo-Irish Treaty in 1921, calling for an end of the Irish war of Independance. During the war, women who were openly active in the war started getting arrested in 1922, leading to Gill's arrest in 1923. This was documented by Elizabeth Yates in a letter to one of her friends, stating "We had another upset, my two printing girls were arrested—the two silly girls belong to Cumann na mBan, the women’s Republican Society." . Even though the lost the war they were fighting, she remained a member of Cumann na mBan until the 1950's.