Countess Markievicz '˜not a role model students' says historian

A woman who reputedly shot an unarmed Dublin police officer in the head during the 1916 Easter Rising is 'not an appropriate person' to have a university building named after, a leading historian has said.
A new building at the Institute of Technology Sligo has been named after Countess MarkieviczA new building at the Institute of Technology Sligo has been named after Countess Markievicz
A new building at the Institute of Technology Sligo has been named after Countess Markievicz

Gordon Lucy said the decision taken by the Institute of Technology Sligo – to name its new School of Business after Countess Markievicz – was regrettable given that at least 23 serving police officers in the Republic have been murdered by republicans.

The Institute said the building’s name honoured a “suffragette, a socialist and a leading figure in the Irish republican movement,” and added: “She was spent most of her childhood in Lissadell House in Co Sligo, and played a major role in the 1916 Rising. She became first Irish female cabinet minister in Dáil Éireann, and was also the first woman to be elected to the British parliament in 1918.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

However, Mr Lucy questioned whether there was “some point in Irish history that murdering policemen is perfectly acceptable”.

He said: “She participated in the 1916 rebellion, serving as second-in-command to Michael Mallin, and shot Constable Michael Lahiff, an unarmed member of the Dublin Metropolitan Police, in the back of the head. From the Irish Census of 1911 we know that Constable Michael Lahiff, was a native Irish speaker from Co Clare.”

Mr Lucy added: “At least 23 serving Gardaí have been killed by individuals or groups associated with the republican paramilitary groups. Their killers are rightly regarded as murderers and terrorists but how are their actions any different from those of the Countess Markievicz?”

The €7 million project was officially opened by the Republic’s higher education minister Mary Mitchell O’Connor on November 27.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Responding to the criticism, a spokeswoman for Institute told the News Letter there are “differing historical accounts on the extent of her alleged involvement in the shooting of a police officer,” and added: “Countess Markievicz was one of Ireland’s best known female historical figures, and had deep Anglo-Irish connections with Sligo. She spent much of her life passionately working for the rights of the rights of the poorer classes oppressed in Irish society.”