Constance Markievicz becomes first female MP
Dublin, 30 December 1918 - The results from the Dublin city and county divisions were announced in the Green Street Courthouse in Dublin on 28 December.
Outside there were enthusiastic scenes as Sinn Féin supporters celebrated the results, most notably the historic election of Constance Markievicz in the St Patrick’s constituency.
She is the first woman to be elected to the House of Commons, although she has pledged not to take her seat.
British Pathé footage featuring Constance Markievicz, the first woman elected to the House of Commons
Markievicz was not on hand to savour her moment of triumph, as she is currently imprisoned in Holloway Jail, but Joseph Cleary offered thanks on her behalf, remarking that now that parliamentarianism had been routed in the city, ‘the humbug is now over’.
Less impressed with the historic result in St Patrick’s is the Belfast Newsletter, which claims that Markievicz’s election conferred a ‘doubtful distinction’ on Dublin, the new MP serving as more a representative of ‘militant Sinn Féin than of the gentler sex’.
The other female Sinn Féin candidate, Winifred Carney, polled poorly in the constituency of Victoria in Belfast.
One of three candidates in the constituency, Ms Carney polled just 395 votes of the 13,163 cast. The Victoria seat was ultimately won by the Unionist Labour candidate, Thompson Donald.
[Editor's note: This is an article from Century Ireland, a fortnightly online newspaper, written from the perspective of a journalist 100 years ago, based on news reports of the time.]
