The UK Government has confirmed that a specific event will be held this year to commemorate 100 years since the election of Countess Markievicz to its parliament.
The commemoration will be part of this years vote100 celebrations which will be held throughout the year in the UK.
UK Prime Minister Theresa May says a centenary celebration this year is warranted to mark the role women have played in the House of Commons.
Though Markievicz, who was a Sinn Féin member, wasn’t mentioned by name as the first woman elected, a spokesperson for the House of Commons has confirmed that she will feature in Westminster commemorations later this year.
It’s understood that a segment on Countess Markievicz will feature in an exhibition in Westminster Hall, and there will be something specific in December to mark the centenary.
Constance Markievicz played a prominent role in the 1916 Rising and was sentenced to death afterwards, although her life was spared because she was a woman from a privileged, well-known family.
Markievicz was the first woman to be elected to the House of Commons in a general election held in December 1918, but, as a Sinn Féin candidate with a policy of abstentionism, she didn’t take her seat in Westminster.
The Vote100 celebrations are being held in the UK throughout the year to remember the mark women have left on politics, and in the hope that it will encourage other women to become legislators.
