“On Opposite Sides – Constance and Casimir Markievicz in 1917” was the title of the lecture on the relationship between these two fascinating figures in Irish and Polish history. 

 

In 1917, Constance was in prison for her role in the Easter Rising. On the other side of Europe her Polish husband Casimir was working on Polish theatre in Moscow after being wounded in the Great War. In his lecture, Pat Quigley described how the relationship between Constance and Casimir endured despite their separation.

 

Constance Markievicz became the first woman to be elected to the British parliament in December 1918, but took her seat in the new Irish parliament when Ireland declared independence in January 1919. She was appointed Minister of Labour, becoming the first female minister in Ireland and the second female minister in the world. 

 

Constance Markievicz remains a symbol of Irish-Polish ties, and there is a school named after here in Warsaw. 

 

Pat Quigley has written two books on the Markievicz family: “The Polish Irishman: The Life and Times of Count Casimir Markievicz” and “Sisters Against the Empire: Countess Constance Markievicz and Eva Gore-Booth in 1916-17”.