Following on the heels of the Representation of the People Act (1918) which granted a measure of suffrage to women, came the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act which barred women’s exclusion from professions, societies etc., based solely on gender grounds. These two Acts were the motivation for the Spring 2019 Lunchtime Lecture series ‘Sisters’ which celebrated sisterhood and specifically the lives and achievements of five families of sisters who made their mark on Irish life.

Including artists, publishers, writers, educationalists, philanthropists, revolutionaries, suffragists — thinkers all — these were independent women with hopes and ideals who made a difference in their own times. Learn about the diverse backgrounds and motivations of extraordinary sisters from four different centuries, listen to the lectures by clicking here.

Wednesday 13 March

‘“Two girls in silk kimonos”: the Gore-Booth sisters, childhood and political development’ – Sonja Tiernan

 

Wednesday  27 March 

‘“A precious boon” in difficult times – Hanna Sheehy Skeffington and her sisters’ – Margaret Ward

 

Wednesday 3 April

‘“Who will ever say again that poetry does not pay?”: the Yeats sisters and and the Cuala Press’ – Lucy Collins

 

Wednesday 10 April

‘Ties that endure – the lives and correspondence of three eighteenth-century sisters – Katherine Conolly, Jane Bonnell and Mary Jones’ – Gabrielle M. Ashford

 

Wednesday 17 April

‘The Shackleton sisters: Irish Quaker women c. 1750-1850’ – Mary O’Dowd, MRIA

To purchase the publication that captured the lectures of ‘Sisters I’ and ‘Sister II’, click here.