Constance Markievicz Part II

Constance continued to balance between Dublin society and her new nationalist friends. She tended at times to irritate both sides of the divide. Casimir visited his home in Poland and pursued his artistic interests. Gradually the couple grew apart. Maeve, their daughter was brought up by the Gore Booth family and rather resented her mother's involvement in her own pursuits. She felt that Con saw her once a year, and was fun to be with but then she was off about her own life. Con felt that the children of the poor needed her more than her own daughter. In 1916, she was one of the women who were involved in the Rising, some worked as couriers, or nurses. But Con was used to handling guns and she took a more active part. She led a troop and fought in the Rising. She was sentenced to death, but was reprieved because of her sex. After a period in prison she went on with her fight for Irish freedom, but when the Treaty was debated she took the Anti Treaty side with Eamon De Valera.. and went on opposing the Treaty. THis led to the Irish Civil war which caused a bitter divide in the Irish political nation. Constance was much loved by the Irish poor, because she gave up such wealth as she had to support the Republican cause and to help the poverty stricken. For some time she contintued to oppose the Treaty and like the other TDs in De Valera's party she refused to take her seat in the Dail. However it was an unrealistic position, and could not go on indefinitely. In 1927, Kevin O'Higgins, a prominent minister in the Free State Government, was shot on his way from Mass, and WT Cosgrave, the Prime Minister, brought in a bill that stated that all TD's must take their seats and that meant taking an Oath to the British King. Constance was very reluctant to do this, but De Valera was more hard headed and decided that now the oath was merely "an empty formula" and that he and his TDs would take it. He found a way of wriggling round his conscience.. and led his party into the Dail. However Constance died before she had to face this dilemma. She had had health problems and had 2 operations for appendicitis and she died in a ward for the poor, on 15th July. Less than a month Later, Fianna Fail entered the Dail. Constance was often naive and foolish, but she had a warm heart and devoted herself to the cause she had chosen... and gave away most of her possessions to die with the poor. Her husband had gone back to the Ukraine but he came to see her before she died.