Editing Irish War of Independence (section)

==Role of women in the war==
[[File:Countess Constance Markiewicz-1.1.2 (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|[[Constance Markievicz]] was a member of the Irish Citizen Army and fought in the Easter Rising. In 1919 she was appointed [[Minister for Labour (Ireland)|Minister for Labour]] in the Government of the Irish Republic]]
Although most of the fighting was carried out by men, women played a substantial supporting role in the Irish War of Independence. Before the Easter Rising of 1916, many Irish nationalist women were brought together through organisations fighting for [[women's suffrage]], such as the [[Irish Women's Franchise League]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Women and History 1912–1922 |url=https://www.ul.ie/wic/sites/default/files/Women%20and%20%20History%201912-22.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191111162627/http://www.ul.ie/wic/sites/default/files/Women%20and%20%20History%201912-22.pdf |archive-date=11 November 2019 |access-date=2018-12-06 |website=www.ul.ie}}</ref> The republican socialist Irish Citizen Army promoted gender equality and many of these women—including [[Constance Markievicz|Constance Markiewicz]], [[Madeleine ffrench-Mullen]], and [[Kathleen Lynn]]—joined the group.<ref>{{Cite book |last=McKenna |first=Joseph |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BxLb0aZOFOMC&pg=PA112 |title=Guerrilla Warfare in the Irish War of Independence, 1919–1921 |year=2011|publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-8519-2 |page=110 |language=en}}</ref> In 1914, the all-female paramilitary group Cumann na mBan was launched as an auxiliary of the Irish Volunteers. During the Easter Rising, some women participated in fighting and carried messages between Irish Volunteer posts while under fire from British troops.<ref>McKenna 2011, p. 112.</ref> After the rebel defeat, Éamon de Valera opposed the participation of women in combat and they were limited to supporting roles.<ref name=":0">McKenna 2011, pp. 262–263.</ref>

During the conflict, women hid IRA volunteers being sought by the British, nursed wounded volunteers, and gathered money to help republican prisoners and their families. Cumann na mBan engaged in undercover work to set back the British war effort. They smuggled guns, ammunition, and money to the IRA; [[Kathleen Clarke]] smuggled gold worth £2,000 from Limerick to Dublin for Collins.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Ryan |first=Louise |date=July 1999 |title='Furies' and 'Die-hards': Women and Irish Republicanism in the Early Twentieth Century |journal=Gender and History |volume=11 |issue=2 |page=264 |doi=10.1111/1468-0424.00142 |s2cid=143724513}}</ref> Because they sheltered wanted men, many women were subject to raids on their homes by British forces, with acts of [[sexual violence]] sometimes being reported but not confirmed.<ref name=":0"/> Intimidation was more commonly applied to women than physical violence.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hughes |first=Brian |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/946007260 |title=Defying the IRA? Intimidation, Coercion, and Communities During the Irish Revolution |date=2016 |publisher=Liverpool University Press |isbn=978-1-78138-297-4 |series=Reappraisals in Irish history |location=Liverpool |page=141 |oclc=946007260}}</ref> It is estimated that there were between 3,000 and 9,000 members of Cumann na mBan during the war, and in 1921 there were 800 branches throughout the island. It is estimated that fewer than 50 women were imprisoned by the British during the war.<ref name=":1"/>