Sheila or Sighle Dowling ( – 26 June 1957) was an Irish republican, socialist, trade unionist, feminist, and a member of

Cumann na mBan Cumann na mBan (; but in English termed The Irishwomen's Council), abbreviated C na mB, is an Irish republican women's paramilitary organisation formed in Dublin on 2 April 1914, merging with and dissolving Inghinidhe na hÉireann, and in 191 ...

Early career

Sheila Dowling was born Sheila Bowen around 1896. She worked as a stenographer in the

Dáil courts The Dáil Courts (also known as Republican Courts) were the judicial branch of government of the Irish Republic, which had unilaterally declared independence in 1919. They were formally established by a decree of the First Dáil on 29 June 192 ...

in north Dublin city during the

War of Independence Wars of national liberation, also called wars of independence or wars of liberation, are conflicts fought by nations to gain independence. The term is used in conjunction with wars against foreign powers (or at least those perceived as foreign) ...

, working for the republican solicitor Michael Noyk. During a raid on an IRA depot in

Blackhall Place Blackhall Place () is a street in Dublin, Ireland which was laid out in the 1780s on the area which previously formed Oxmantown green. It runs from Stoneybatter in the north to the River Liffey and the James Joyce Bridge. History Blackhall Pl ...

, Dowling was arrested and taken to

Dublin Castle Dublin Castle () is a major Government of Ireland, Irish government complex, conference centre, and tourist attraction. It is located off Dame Street in central Dublin. It is a former motte-and-bailey castle and was chosen for its position at ...

. She successfully disposed of important papers by eating them. She was opposed to the

Anglo-Irish Treaty The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty (), commonly known in Ireland as The Treaty and officially the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was an agreement between the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain an ...

, and was arrested leaving Dublin on her way to speak in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

for

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( ; ; ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The History of Sinn Féin, original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffit ...

during the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

. Dowling was one of the group of 81 republican women prisoners in

Kilmainham Gaol Kilmainham Gaol () is a former prison in Kilmainham, Dublin. It is now a museum run by the Office of Public Works, an agency of the Government of Ireland. Many Irish revolutionaries, including the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising (Patrick Pea ...

who resisted their transfer to the North Dublin Union as they did not want to be separated from two of their colleagues who were on

hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance where participants fasting, fast as an act of political protest, usually with the objective of achieving a specific goal, such as a policy change. Hunger strikers that do not take fluids are ...

. The group was forcibly moved with marked violence by male prison officers in May 1923. She was on the executive of

by the late 1920s. Dowling was active in the labour movement, working as the personal secretary to the general secretary of the

Irish Transport and General Workers' Union The Irish Transport and General Workers Union (ITGWU) was a trade union representing workers, initially mainly labourers, in Ireland. History The union was founded by James Larkin and James Fearon in January 1909 as a general union. Initially ...

William O'Brien William O'Brien (2 October 1852 – 25 February 1928) was an Irish nationalist, journalist, agrarian agitator, social revolutionary, politician, party leader, newspaper publisher, author and Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons of ...

, working as an organiser for the

Irish Women Workers' Union The Irish Women Workers' Union was a trade union which was set up at a meeting on 5 September 1911 in Dublin, Ireland. The meeting had been organized by Delia Larkin. The union was created because other trade unions of the time excluded women worke ...

(IWWU), representing the Union on the Dublin trades' council and representing the Irish Trade Union Congress at the international labour conferences in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

and

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

. Around 1930, she married Frank Dowling. He later worked as the manager of Dublin's Metropole cinema. They had one daughter.

Career post Irish independence

Within the IWWU Dowling was a close associate of the militant socialist and pro-republican

Helena Molony Helena Mary Molony (15 January 1883 – 29 January 1967) was a prominent Irish republican, feminist and labour activist. She fought in the 1916 Easter Rising and later became the second woman president of the Irish Trades Union Congress. Early ...

, which brought her into conflict with the more moderate

Louie Bennett Louie Bennett (7 January 1870 – 25 November 1956) was an Irish suffragette, trade unionist, journalist and writer. Born and raised in Dublin, she established the Irish Women's Suffrage Federation in 1911. She was a joint editor and contrib ...

and Helen Chenevix. The tensions between the two groups in the early 1930s were focused on Dowling's and Molony's pro-Soviet sympathies and associations with Irish communists. She was an active member in the Irish section of Friends of Soviet Russia, visiting the

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

in the summer of 1930 with a delegation with

Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington Johanna Mary Sheehy-Skeffington (née Sheehy; 24 May 1877 – 20 April 1946) was a suffragette and Irish nationalist. Along with her husband Francis Sheehy-Skeffington, Margaret Cousins and James Cousins, she founded the Irish Women's Franch ...

and

Charlotte Despard Charlotte Despard (née French; 15 June 1844 – 10 November 1939) was an Anglo-Irish people, Anglo-Irish suffragist, socialist, pacifist, Sinn Féin activist, and novelist. She was a founding member of the Women's Freedom League, the Women's Pe ...

. Impressed by the apparent promise of

gender equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality, gender egalitarianism, or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making, an ...

in the USSR, Dowling lectured on life there, generating more controversy. In September 1931, Dowling was one of the four women on the founding executive of

Saor Éire Saor Éire (; ) was a far-left political organisation in the Irish Free State established in September 1931 by communist-leaning members of the Irish Republican Army, with the backing of the IRA leadership. Notable among its founders was Pead ...

. When the group was banned by the Free State government, Dowling withdrew from the executive. After the legal re-interpretation of union rules on members receiving marriage benefit, Dowling was forced to resign as IWWU president and trustee in March 1932. This highlighted the contradiction between IWWU's support for gender equality with its reluctance to facilitate married women entering the workforce. It has been speculated that it was Bennett who exploited the issue to force Dowling out. She continued to work with other groups, such as the British Boycott Committee, and opposed the ratification of the 1937 Irish constitution on the grounds of how it would affect women and their role in society. She campaigned with the Labour Party in Dublin when it opposed the 1939 Offences Against the State Act. Dowling lived at 8 Belgrave Road,

Rathmines Rathmines (; ) is an inner suburb on the Southside (Dublin), Southside of Dublin in Ireland. It begins at the southern side of the Grand Canal of Ireland, Grand Canal and stretches along the Rathmines Road as far as Rathgar to the south, Ranela ...

, Dublin from the early 1940s. She died from

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

at Hume Street hospital on 26 June 1957, and is buried in

Glasnevin Cemetery Glasnevin Cemetery () is a large cemetery in Glasnevin, Dublin, Ireland which opened in 1832. It holds the graves and memorials of several notable figures, and has a museum. Location The cemetery is located in Glasnevin, Dublin, in two part ...

. Senator Frank Purcell remembered Dowling as "the nicest and most sincere little woman I ever met…a grand character".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCarthy, Janie 1890s births 1957 deaths Trade unionists from County Dublin Cumann na mBan members Irish socialist feminists Irish trade unionists Irish republicans Irish women trade unionists Place of birth missing