‘Mná na hÉireann’ (Women of Ireland) is synonymous as a shout out to all good things achieved by the better species of Irish humankind! We present six of our favourite Irish women from Mythology, history, and right up to contemporary 21st century.
Pride of Ireland
Mythical Queen Meadhbh (pronounced ‘Mave’) of Connaught (a province in the west of Ireland). She’s one of the main characters in the Ulaidh (Ulster) cycle of Irish Mythology and Legend. She’s best known for her role in the legend of a great cattle raid, which resulted in the death of another hero of Irish legend, Cú Chulainn.
In Celtic times, cattle raiding was almost a pastime in Ireland. Money as a currency didn’t exist. The measure of your wealth was the amount of cattle you owned, so such raids were quite common.
The greatest cattle raid of all came about simply because Meadhbh’s husband, Aillil, had one thing she didn’t – a great white bull. The only one to match or better it, was the Brown Bull of Cooley, in the east of the country.
Queen Meadhbh’s pride and ambition led to her mustering her armies to capture the bull. Naturally the story doesn’t have the happiest of endings. Cú Chulainn, who single-handedly fought them off for days, was eventually mortally wounded. But you’ll have to join us on one of our great small-group tours to find out the full story. (Editor’s note: Larry takes so long to tell it, most people fall asleep before he’s halfway through!).
Upstanding on the Wild Atlantic Way
Even thousands of years after her death, Meadhbh lives on. Legend has it that she is entombed beneath a massive stone cairn on top of Knocknarea mountain in Co. Sligo, overlooking the Wild Atlantic Ocean. Buried upright, facing her enemies to the east, even in death.
Pirate Queen of the West of Ireland
Meadhbh may be a character from Irish legend and mythology. But another feisty west of Ireland woman, Grace O’ Malley, is noted in history from Elizabethan times. The daughter of a sea-faring Irish chieftain, she had a number of sobriquets – the ‘Pirate Queen’ amongst them. She followed a family tradition of extracting ‘taxes’. These were taken from ships that plied their way along the Wild Atlantic Way off her home of Clare Island.
There are many true tales of her derring do (yep, you’ll have to come on tour to hear them). One our favourite’s relates to her schooner being boarded by Barbary pirates. Grace was resting in her cabin, having only recently given birth. Though she heard the commotion, she didn’t stir until disturbed by one of her crew. He broke the news that they were in danger of losing the battle on deck. Swinging into action she quickly rallied her crew to turn the tide and repel the boarders. Maybe both the pirates and her own men were equally afraid of this feisty Irish woman and reacted accordingly!
We spend two nights in Grace O’Malley territory on our 7 Day Northern Ireland and Best of the West tour. If you want to read more about the life of this amazing Irishwoman, we recommend the books of Anne Chambers.
Women of 20th Century Ireland
Jumping forward in time, may we introduce you to the first ever female Member of the British Parliament. Irish revolutionary, friend and kindred spirit of Irish Nobel Laureate, W.B. Yeats – Countess Markievicz, aka Constance Gore Booth of Co. Sligo (not far from Queen Meadhbh actually).
Born into a wealthy Anglo-Irish family, she married Polish Count Casimir Markievicz, hence the title and surname. Mind you, there is some doubt about the provenance of his ‘royalty’ tag. Constance was not just a republican but a suffragette and tireless worker for the downtrodden. She played an active role in the 1916 Easter Rising. Being a woman saved from suffering the same fate of execution of some of her comrades in arms. She was sentenced to life imprisonment, but released in 1917 as part of an amnesty. Her death, at the age of 59, in 1927 saw tens of thousands line the streets of Dublin to pay their respects to this truly heroic woman of Ireland.
All the Presidents’ Women
For the fourth in our list, we’re actually going to double up! Both of these ladies held the highest office in Ireland with distinction. Mary Robinson became the first woman President of Ireland. She was succeeded by Mary McAleese, who served two terms totalling 14 years.
Former President Robinson resigned her presidency just prior to the end of her seven year term, to become United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. President McAleese, a native of Northern Ireland, is remembered for the binding and healing role her presidency played in the Northern Ireland peace process in the 1990s.
An Irish Jab
Undisputed women’s World Lightweight Boxing Champion and Olympic Gold Medallist, Katie Taylor has been in the vanguard of Irish sport for many years. Katie is just one of a handful of boxers (male or female) to hold all four major belts concurrently. As an amateur, she won Olympic Gold in 2012, when women’s boxing first featured as an Olympic sport.
Her fancy footwork was also noticeable on the soccer field. Before concentrating totally on boxing, Katie represented Ireland at soccer. She played at underage and senior levels – 11 times for the senior team.
Katie is also a devout Christian, and has ‘Psalm 18’ embroidered on her shorts. Her sporting behaviour inside the ring and on the field, and her humble modest demeanour are admirable. She is an ideal role model for young Irish sportspeople. The ups and downs of her career were captured in this critically acclaimed documentary: Katie
A Song of Tribute to the Women of Ireland
Of course this is just a small selection of great Irish women – there are many more. In honour of these these and all Irish women, we’ll close this post with one of the most beautiful, haunting pieces of Irish music ever written. It’s been recorded, sung or played by many diverse musicians – from Kate Bush, and the Chieftains, to rock guitarist Jeff sBeck. We’d like to present you with this version of Mná na hÉireann (Women of Ireland), as our tribute to another great Irish female – the late Sinead O’ Connor. The haunting melody was composed by the late Sean O’ Riada.
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Before you travel to Ireland
To learn more about these great women, Irish history, culture, people, music and ‘the craic’, check out our great Ireland tours. We offer 6 Days in Southwest Ireland, 7 Days in Northern and west Ireland and, the Ultimate 12 Day All-Ireland Tour. We also work with our clients to enable their dream private bespoke tour with family and friends.