Sleight of hand by BBC on International Women's Day attempt to erase Ireland's Countess Markievicz from history

Yesterday 8th March was International Women's Day. Interesting to see an item by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) or as it should be better described English Broadcasting Corporation. With their usual sleight of hand they wrote: "In 1919 Lady Nancy Astor became the first elected woman MP to sit in Parliament." Their little trick was to include the words "sit in". In fact the first woman to be "elected to" to the British parliament was Constance Markievicz (February 1868 – 15 July 1927). At the 1918 Irish general election, Countess Markievicz was elected for the constituency of Dublin St Patrick's, as one of 73 Sinn Féin MPs elected in their landslide victory. The Irish General Election of 1918 was that part of the 1918 general election which took place in Ireland. In 1918 the whole of Ireland was a part of the so-called United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and was represented in the British Parliament by 105 MPs. 

In the aftermath of the elections, Sinn Féin's elected members refused to attend the British Parliament, instead they formed a parliament in Dublin, the First Dáil - Dáil Éireann, which declared Irish independence as a republic. The Dáil reaffirmed the 1916 Proclamation with the Irish Declaration of Independence. As with other elected Sinn Féin MPs, who refused to recognise the sovereignty of the Parliament of the United Kingdom over Ireland, Countess Markievicz did not take her seat in the House of Commons. Perhaps it comes as no surprise that England's broadcaster (BBC) should want to erase her from history. After all, Countess Markievicz took part in the 1916 Rising against the British. In the Rising she fought in Dublin's St Stephen's Green where the fighters held out for six days, only stopping when the British brought them a copy of Patrick Pearse's surrender order. She was taken to Dublin Castle and then transported to Kilmainham Gaol. 

At her trial Constance Markievicz told the court, "I went out to fight for Ireland's freedom and it does not matter what happens to me. I did what I thought was right and I stand by it." She was sentenced to death, but this was commuted to life in prison. As part of an amnesty she was later released. After her election in Ireland she went on to become the second woman in the world to hold a cabinet position as Minister for Labour of the Irish Republic, 1919–1922. Constance Markievicz died at the age of 59 on 15 July 1927. She was buried at Glasnevin Cemetery, where Éamon de Valera gave the funeral oration. 

As for the BBC? Well this issue again raises the question of why some of the Celtic nations; Wales, Scotland, Cornwall and even the Isle of Man, continue to pay a mandatory Licence fee towards its upkeep. A tax paid to what is, after all, an English broadcaster, which serves the interests of England. Not only in its current affairs output, but as this item indicates, the manipulation of matters of historical accuracy.