Erased Leader: Margaret Buckley and Ireland's Counter-Revolution
Erased Leader: Margaret Buckley and Ireland's Counter-Revolution 🎨 Exclusive Artwork for Patrons I've created original artwork based on Margaret Buckley's historic portrait — designed to repopularise her image and bring her back into Ireland's visual memory. Patrons can download, print, share, post, and use the artwork freely. 👉 Download the Margaret Buckley Artwork: https://www.patreon.com/posts/margaret-buckley-143585337?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link 👉 Download the PDF Pack: https://www.patreon.com/posts/downloadable-pdf-143585763?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link Episode Summary In this episode of Undercover Irish, we uncover the story of Margaret Buckley — a woman erased from Ireland's historical record, despite being President of Sinn Féin in 1937 and a central figure of the revolutionary period. We begin by challenging a famous moment from Reeling in the Years, which claims Mary Harney became the first female leader of an Irish political party in 1993. That claim is wrong. Ireland had a female party leader decades earlier, and her name was Margaret Buckley. Her erasure tells us something profound about how Ireland remembers — and forgets — its own revolution. What We Explore in This Episode 🔹 Margaret Buckley's Life & Leadership Her work as a republican, feminist, socialist, author, political prisoner, and ultimately Uachtarán Shinn Féin. 🔹 The Democratic Programme of the First Dáil Its radical commitments to social justice, workers' rights, and public welfare — and why the Free State buried it almost immediately. 🔹 The Dáil Courts How Buckley served as a judge in these revolutionary courts, which attempted to replace the British legal system — and why their destruction marked the counter-revolution. 🔹 Ireland in the 1920s and 1930s A period wrongly remembered as naturally conservative — when in fact women remained active, radical ideas persisted, and the state was actively reshaping memory. 🔹 The Jangle of the Keys Buckley's extraordinary prison memoir, offering insight into her politics, humour, and determination — written because the Free State imprisoned her. 🔹 Buckley vs. the Free State & the 1937 Constitution Her critique of the Treaty, her objections to the Constitution's treatment of women and workers, and her belief that the true Republic of 1919 had been betrayed. 🔹 Why It Matters Today: How History Gets Written We reflect on historiography itself — who gets remembered, who gets erased, and why the "official story" so often leaves out women, radicals, and republicans who didn't fit the state's preferred narrative. 📚 Further Reading Margaret Buckley — The Jangle of the Keys Her essential memoir, written during her imprisonment, offering a firsthand account of women in the revolution and life inside Free State jails. 🔗 Follow & Support the Show Instagram: 👉 Follow for episode visuals, maps, historic images, and updates. Eolan Ryng (@undercoverirish) • Instagram photos and videos
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