The Countess Markievicz in the uniform of the Irish Citizen Army

Photographic postcard of the Countess Markievicz wearing the uniform of the Irish Citizen Army. Constance Markievicz was born into a wealthy Anglo-Irish London family and lived in Dublin with her husband, a Polish count. She became involved in the struggle for Irish independence, joining Sinn Fein. This organisation was campaigning for Home Rule for Ireland. During the Dublin Easter Rising of 1916, she was second in command of a group of Irish Citizen Army soldiers and was later imprisoned. In 1918 she was the first woman elected to the British parliament as an MP for Sinn Fein. Like all contemporary Sinn Fein MPs, she refused to take her seat in protest against English rule in Ireland.