The Honourable Ladies: Volume I: Profiles of Women MPs 1918-1996

FOREWORD BY PRIME MINISTER THERESA MAY

When Constance Markievicz stood for election as MP for Dublin St Patrick's in 1918, few people believed she could win the seat – yet she did. A breakthrough in the bitter struggle for female enfranchisement had come earlier that year, followed by a second landmark piece of legislation allowing women to be elected to Parliament – and Markievicz duly became the first female MP. A member of Sinn Féin, she refused to take her seat. She did, however, pave th...