In the heart of Rathfarnham Village stands a statue commemorating Anne Devlin, the Irish republican co-conspirator who helped plan the Irish rebellion of 1803. Anne Devlin (1780-1851) was born in Cronebeg, County Wicklow. At 16, she began to work as a maid to support her family. In 1801, at 21, she moved to Rathfarnham, where her cousin, the rebel Michael Dwyer, secured her a job as the housekeeper of Robert Emmet, the leader of the newly founded Society of United Irishmen. This position was a disguise for her as an unpaid co-conspirator. She had a significant role in planning the society’s upcoming uprising against the British regime, arranging meetings, and delivering messages and arms between the guerilla forces across Dublin. On the evening of July 23rd, 1803, the rebels seized several strategic positions across the city, but by the morning, the uprising had failed. Devlin was arrested by the British, and for the next three years, she was imprisoned and kept in solitary confinement at Kilmainham Gaol. Despite being tortured, she refused to unveil any information about her fellow rebellions. After her release in 1806, 26 years old Devlin was hired as a maid by friends of the Emmet family and later as a laundress at St Patrick’s Hospital Dublin. She lived in poverty until she died at 71. Clodagh Emoe created the bronze statue, which was unveiled on February 26th, 2004, by the mayor of South Dublin, Maire Ardagh. The statue depicts Devlin barefoot, poorly dressed, with a fierce look that expresses courage and resilience. There are many recommended sites to visit while in Rathfarnham Village, including Rathfarnham Castle, the Fairy Tree in Marlay Park, the Rathfarnham Parish Church of Ireland, and the Saint Peregrine Chapel. Read more...

The Irish political activist, revolutionist, and suffragette Countess Markievicz’s bronze bust stands in the heart of Dublin at St. Stephen’s Green Park. Markievicz was the first woman elected to the House of Commons and the first female cabinet minister in Europe. Seamus Murphy created it, and it was unveiled in 1954. It depicts Markievicz wearing her Irish Citizen Army uniform. The bust stands on a stone column engraved on its front with the details: “Constance Markievicz; Major; Irish Citizen Army; 1916,” and on its side: “A valiant woman who fought for Ireland in 1916.” Constance Georgine Markievicz (1868-1927), also known as Countess Markievicz, was born in London into an Anglo-Irish aristocratic family and grew up in County Sligo, Ireland. In her late 20s, while studying painting in Paris, she met her future husband, Count Casimir Dunin-Markievicz of Poland. In 1903, the couple moved to Dublin, where Markievicz became involved with Irish politics. Five years later, she joined the revolutionary women’s group Inghinidhe na hÉireann (Daughters of Ireland) and the Sinn Féin political party. The following year, she founded the republican organization Na Fianna Éireann (Soldiers of Ireland). In 1911, Markievicz got arrested for protesting against King George V’s visit to Ireland; it was the first of her many arrests and imprisonments for her political activism. Two years later, she joined the socialist Irish Citizen Army (ICA), and three years later, she was part of its Easter Rising against the British government in Ireland and fought in St Stephen’s Green. She was arrested, imprisoned, and sentenced to death; fortunately, the punishment got reduced to life in prison due to her gender. She was released in the following year but soon returned to prison for supposedly plotting against the British government. In 1918, while imprisoned, she was elected to the House of Commons as the representative for Dublin’s St. Patrick’s division, becoming the first woman elected to the British House of Commons; she did not take her seat because she refused to swear an oath of allegiance to the king. After her release, she served as the minister of labor in the newly founded Dáil Éireann (Irish Assembly). Four years after the Dáil Éireann was incorporated as the lower house of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament), she was elected to the parliament but again refused to swear allegiance to the king and gave up her seat. In 1926, she joined the nationalist Fianna Fáil party and was elected to the Dáil Éireann the following year. She died a month later before she took her seat. Read more...

The Constance Markievicz Statue commemorates Countess Markievicz’s contribution to the fight for Ireland’s freedom and honors her achievement as the first woman elected to the United Kingdom House of Commons. Treasury Holdings commissioned it, chose the artist Elizabeth McLaughlin to create it, and installed it in 1998. The 4m tall bronze statue depicts Markievicz in informal clothes with her cocker spaniel, Poppet, by her side. The sculpture received criticism for its little resemblance to Markievicz. Constance Georgine Markievicz (1868-1927) was born in London to Anglo-Irish landowners. She grew up in Sligo, Ireland, and in her late 20s, she studied art in Paris, where she met and married Count Casimir Dunin-Markievicz of Poland. On their return to Ireland in 1903, Markievicz became involved in Irish nationalist politics. Within a few years, she joined the Sinn Féin political party, the revolutionary women’s group Inghinidhe na hÉireann (Daughters of Ireland), and founded the nationalist Boy Scout organization, Na Fianna Éireann. In 1913, she became a member of the socialist Irish Citizen Army (ICA) and played an active part in the 1916 Easter Rising against the British government in Ireland. For her role in the rising, she was arrested and sentenced to death, though it was commuted to life because of her gender, and in 1917 she was released as part of the general amnesty. In the following year, she was arrested again, this time for supposedly plotting against the British government. In 1918, while in prison, Markievicz was elected to the House of Commons as the representative for Dublin’s St. Patrick’s division and became the first woman to be elected to the British House of Commons; she refused to swear an oath of allegiance to the king and gave up her seat. Instead, she took the position of minister of labor in the Dáil Éireann (Irish Assembly), becoming the first and only woman to hold a cabinet position until 1979. In 1923, a few years after the incorporation of the Dáil Éireann into the Oireachtas (Irish parliament), Markievicz was elected to the parliament; again, she refused to swear allegiance to the king and did not take her seat. In 1927, she was elected to the Dáil Éireann as a member of the nationalist Fianna Fáil party, but she died the following month without taking her seat. The statue stands outside the Markievicz Leisure Centre, a few blocks from the Markievicz House Playground. A bust of Markievicz is located at St. Stephen’s Green Park, where she fought during the Easter Rising. Between the two locations, there are various sites to visit, such as Trinity College, The National Gallery of Ireland, The National Museum of Ireland, and the Molly Malone statue. Read more...

The Molly Malone Statue portrays the fictional character of an Irish folk song set in Dublin, which also became Dublin’s unofficial anthem. The song tells the story of a 17th-century fishmonger who sold cockles and mussels on the streets of Dublin by day and worked as a prostitute by night. The song details how she suddenly died of a fever and returned as a ghost to haunt the city streets. In Dublin’s fair city, where the girls are so pretty I first set my eyes on sweet Molly Malone As she wheeled her wheelbarrow through streets broad and narrow Crying cockles and mussels alive a-live O! A-live a-live O! A-live a-live O! Crying cockles and mussels alive a-live O! She was a fishmonger and sure it was no wonder For so were her father and mother before And they both wheeled their barrows through streets broad and narrow Crying cockles and mussels alive a-live O! A-live a-live O! A-live a-live O! Crying cockles and mussels alive a-live O! She died of a fever and no one could save her And that was the end of sweet Molly Malone Now her ghost wheels her barrow through streets broad and narrow Crying cockles and mussels alive a-live O! A-live a-live O! A-live a-live O! Crying cockles and mussels alive a-live O! A-live a-live O! A-live a-live O! Crying cockles and mussels alive a-live O! The earliest record of the song is from an English and German song collection, published in the US in 1876, but another song, from a 1790 book titled Apollo’s Medley, referred to a character named Molly Malone. There is no clear evidence if Molly Malone ever existed, though various theories suggest that the song is based on a real woman who died on June 13th, 1699. The bronze statue of Molly Malone, called by the Dubliners The Tart with the Cart and The Trollop with The Scallop(s), was commissioned by the Jurys Hotel Group and was created by Jeanne Rynhart. It was dedicated in its original location at Grafton Street by the mayor of Dublin in 1988 as part of the city’s millennium celebrations. That same year, June 13th was declared Molly Malone Day. On July 18th, 2014, the statue was unveiled in its current location on Suffolk Street. The statue portrays Molly Malone with her wheelbarrow, selling her merch. She wears a traditional but revealing 17th-century dress that hints at her nighttime occupation. Some believe that rubbing her bosoms brings good luck. Within walking distance of the statue, there are many sites to visit, including the Countess Markievicz Bust in St Stephen’s Green park, the Constance Markievicz Statue in Townsend Street, Trinity College, the Irish Whiskey Museum, and the Thomas Davis statue and memorial fountain. Read more...