Richmond Barracks

Mondays at the Mess: ‘“Having no use at all for men”

Our Mondays at the Mess talk ‘“Having no use at all for men” Same sex relationships among Irish revolutionary women’ with Mary McAuliffe is now available to watch.

For this online talk, Dr Mary McAuliffe looks at the ‘political and personal’ female partnerships who were active in the feminist, nationalist and socialist movements in the early 20th century in Ireland, including some of the 1916 women who are commemorated here at Richmond Barracks.

The emotional, sexual and political lives of these women, and their networks, were intertwined, complex, radical and influential. Dr McAuliffe will explore evidence that several of the leading female activists of this period were in same sex relationships, and how much, or not, their private relationships informed their activism and politics.

About the speaker 

Dr Mary McAuliffe is an Assistant Professor in Gender Studies at UCD and holds a PhD from the School of History and Humanities, Trinity College Dublin. Her publications include We were there; 77 women of the Easter Rising (co-written with Liz Gillis), she recently published a biography of Margaret Skinnider (UCD Press, 2002).

Mondays at the Mess 

Mondays at the Mess is a series of talks at Richmond Barracks that celebrate the rich stories and experiences of the local community, past and present.

 View and book our upcoming Mondays at the Mess talks. 

Posted 15 April 2022