Searching for stories of Cumann na mBan in Meath in the years 1917-1923

My favourite subject at school was history. History about anywhere, in any time period, it fascinated me in primary school and it continues to do so still. It was no surprise that I chose to study History at third level. I graduated with a degree in History and Irish Studies, then followed that up with a Masters in Historical Research. I’ve retained my passion for history generally ever since, but my main interest now is in women’s history.

When I first heard the term ‘women’s history’, I wasn’t entirely sure that it was a ‘real’ subject of study, after all wasn’t women’s history simply history, just like everyone else’s? A brilliant lecturer I was lucky enough to study under pointed out that ‘everyone else’ only meant men, the other half of the human race. She encouraged us to read history more critically, to ask who had written the history books we studied, and why had they written them? Did women’s experiences and stories figure in them? Most crucially, she taught us to ask ‘if not, why not’.

Fast forward 30 years since my graduation and I’m still intrigued by women’s lives, women’s stories and how they have often been missing from the historical record. Most particularly I am interested in the history of so-called ordinary everyday people, the vast majority of us who don’t become major public figures. We all have a history and we all have tales to tell.

Some of these ordinary women are the subject of the book I am writing on Cumann na mBan in Meath in the years 1917-1923, which is being generously supported by Meath County Council’s Decade of Centenaries fund.

Cumann na mBan was a women’s organisation that worked with the IRA and was a vital element in the national struggle. The purpose of the book is to record the names of the women who served in Cumann na mBan in Meath, to investigate who they were, what they did and finally how they have been remembered, if indeed their activity was remembered at all. Women’s role in the War of Independence and Civil War was not at the forefront of public commemorations in previous decades, they were not ignored, but the focus was more on the men who fought.

Books by Oliver Coogan, Owen McFadden and Frank Cogan amongst others, have done a huge amount to record and explore the IRA in Meath. The women of Cumann na mBan and others who were involved are mentioned in these, but are not their main focus. My book will add to the depth of knowledge of that period in Meath’s history by considering and recording the individual women who chose to take part in the national struggle at that time. The women I am researching came from all parts of Meath, from the main urban areas like Navan, to the rural communities around Oldcastle. Some were married women with young families, many others were young, some still in their teens. They carried vital messages, sometimes at considerable personal risk, they kept men on the run supplied with food and other necessities, some ran safe houses, others moved or stored guns and ammunition.

The research for this book has been one of my main leisure activities for a number of years now. I’ve read through numerous Military Service pension files, and umpteen books, visited graveyards the length and breadth of Meath, spoken to people who have kindly helped me identify women about whom I only had the briefest of information. However, I’m still looking for more. Did you have a family member - a granny or grandaunt maybe - who was in Cumann na mBan? Or do you remember hearing about women in your community who were members?

Is there someone local to you who knows a lot about the history and families of your area? Meath might not have been one of the most active counties in the War of Independence, but that does not take away from the courage of these women. Their stories should be told, and remembered, and any help in doing so would be very much appreciated.