Elliott sisters

Elliott Sisters
Cumann na mBan: Emily Ledwith (née Elliott) with her sister Eilis Ní Briain (née Elliott)
Place of originCounty Westmeath, Ireland
MembersEmily, Eilís

The Elliott sisters, Emily (1893-3 March 1983, later Ledwith) and Eilís (26 June 1896 – 29 March 1966, later Ní Briain),[1] were two Irish sisters notable for their involvement in Irish Nationalism, especially in the Easter Rising in 1916. They were founding members of Cumann na mBan.

Biographies

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Emily and Eilís were born in Tonagh[2] near Glasson in County Westmeath.[3][4] They were born to farmer Peter Elliott and Margaret Berry.[1] They had sisters: Ethel, Theresa, Rebecca and Ethel (Sr. Imelda) and brothers: J.J. (John Joseph), Andrew, Charles, Edward and Arthur.[5][6][7][8][9][10] At the time of the rising Eilís was living at Gardiner's Place in Dublin.[11] She is also known as Lizzie.[10]

These two sisters were involved with the nationalist movement in Ireland. The women were members of Cumann na mBan, Emily was a member of the Keating branch. Emily wanted to volunteer in the General Post Office, (GPO) and headed into the city with Eilís Ryan. They were turned away from the GPO and sent to Reis's Chambers on the opposite side of O'Connell Street from the GPO during the Easter Rising. The volunteers were trying to ensure the details of the rising got released and the chambers hosted a wireless school. The women were responsible for ensuring the men had rations, which required them crossing O'Connell street while it was under fire more than once.[11][12][13][14] On the second day the two women were joined by Eilís Elliott.[11]

The women later served in the Four Courts and in Fr Matthew Hall both in providing rations and first aid support. On the final night and with the assistance of the priests, the women mingled with the congregation from the church and avoided being arrested.[11][13]

Westmeath musician Enda Seery composed a suite of traditional Irish music, A New Ireland in the Orchard Air, to honour the sisters.[3][15] The council decided to name a new bridge over the River Shannon the Cumman na mBan bridge in honour of the sisters and the organisation.[4][16]

On 7 April 2018, Westmeath County Council organised the renaming of a road in Athlone "Elliott Road" in honour of two local sisters’ contributions to the Easter Rising. The Mayor of Athlone, Aengus O’Rourke, unveiled the sign for the newly named Elliott Road. Eilis Elliott's grandson, John McCann, made a speech on behalf of the Elliott family.[17] Eilis Elliott's eldest grandson, Kevin Griffin, wore her medals on this historic occasion attended by about a hundred members of the Elliott family.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Birth record" (PDF). Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  2. ^ "The Elliotts of Tonagh House Family History -".
  3. ^ a b "Eilis and Emily Elliott: A New Ireland in the Orchard Air (1916 Centenary Project)". Journal of music. 28 March 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  4. ^ a b Maria Daly (16 October 2014). "Councillor proposes new name for bypass bridge". Athlone Advertiser. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  5. ^ "Theresa" (PDF). Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  6. ^ "Rebecca" (PDF). Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  7. ^ "Ethel" (PDF). Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  8. ^ "Edward" (PDF). Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  9. ^ "Arthur" (PDF). Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  10. ^ a b "National Archives: Census of Ireland 1911". Census national archives. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  11. ^ a b c d "Eilís, Bean Uí Chonaill, (Ní Riain)" (PDF). Bureauofmilitaryhistory.ie. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  12. ^ ""He Received Us With Open Arms"". RTÉ. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  13. ^ a b "Cumann na mBan". Military archives. Archived from the original on 5 November 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  14. ^ "Aine Ni Riain" (PDF). Bureauofmilitaryhistory.ie. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  15. ^ "Eilis And Emily Elliott: A Celebration With Newly Composed Traditional Irish Music. (Monday, 28th March 2016)". Áras an Mhuilinn. Archived from the original on 15 September 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  16. ^ Tríona Doherty (2 April 2015). "Bypass bridge to be renamed Cumann na mBan Bridge". Athlone Advertiser. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  17. ^ "Elliot sisters will be remembered in Athlone with renaming part of Grace Road". Shannonside. 8 April 2018. Archived from the original on 25 May 2019. Retrieved 24 May 2019.

Further reading

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