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Irish Political History series

REPUBLICANISM

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Helena Moloney (b. 1884, Dublin, Ireland. d. Jan. 28 1967, Dublin, Ireland) was a prominent Irish republican, feminist and labor activist. She fought in the 1916 Easter Rising and later became the first woman president of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.^[1]

In 1903, inspired by a pro-nationalist speech given by Maud Gonne, Helena Moloney joined Inghinidhe na hÉireann (Daughters of Ireland) and began a lifelong commitment to the republican cause. In 1908 she became the editor of the organisation's monthly newspaper, Bean na hÉireann (Women of Ireland).^[1]

Moloney also had a career as an actress, and was a member of the Abbey Theater. However her primary commitment was to her political work.^[2]

As a labor activist, Moloney was a close colleague of James Connolly and Countess Markievicz. In November of 1915 Conolly appointed her secretary of the Irish Women Workers' Union.^[3]

Moloney was a prominent member of Cumann na mBan ("Women's League"), an Irish republican women's paramilitary organisation formed in April 1914 as an auxiliary of the Irish Volunteers (IV). Members of Cumann na mBan trained alongside the men of the IV in preparation for the armed rebellion against the English forces in Ireland.^[2]

During the 1916 Easter Rising, Moloney was one of the Citizen's Army soldiers who attacked Dublin Castle. During the attack her commanding officer, Sean Conolly was killed, and Moloney was captured and imprisoned until December of 1916.^[1]

After the Irish Civil War, Moloney became the first woman president of the Irish Trade Union Congress. She remained active in the republican cause during the 1930s, particularly with the Women's Prisoner's Defense League and the People's Rights Association.^[1]

She retired from public life in 1946.^[1]

• Women in the Irish nationalist movement 1900-1916