Countess Constance Markievicz

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British activist who, in 1906, became interested in Ireland's struggle for freedom. As a young woman, she studied art in London in 1893 and in Paris in 1898. Her family held estates in Ireland and, although she was well educated, she was a rebel. At court, she was presented to Queen Victoria in 1887 and quickly took her place in Irish society on her family's big estate. While in Paris, she met Count Casimir Dunin-Markievicz and married him on 29 September 1900. She first entered Nationalist politics in 1908 by joining Sinn Fein, and in 1916, joined the Easter Week Rising. She was arrested and imprisoned until released in the general amnesty in 1917. For her convictions, she was jailed twice In December 1918, Markievicz was the first woman elected to parliament, but refused to take the seat; instead, she became the Minister of Labour on 21 January 1919. In 1922 she toured the U.S. to gain support for her cause. Finally in 1926, she joined Eamon de Valera's political party, her last political move before her death a year later. Markievicz died of a general failure in health on 15 July 1927, Dublin, Ireland. Link to Wikipedia biography