Guns and Chiffon tells the story of the involvement of women in Ireland’s fight for national independence, from the 1916 Rising, through the War of Independence and into the Civil War. It also tells the story of the fight for the rights of workers and the struggle for equal opportunities and votes for women. Their story is told by themselves and in their own voices.
Guns and Chiffon commemorates the 80th anniversary of the of the internment of over 550 women imprisoned by the Irish Free State because they would not surrender their ideal of the Republic. The century had opened with promise: by 1918 women had gained their vote and one of their number, Countess Markievicz, was elected to Parliament at Westminster.