The 4th Markievicz School was held on Saturday 24th May 2014 in Liberty Hall Theatre, Dublin

Speakers 

Bernadette Devlin McAliskey

In 1969, aged 21, Bernadette Devlin became the youngest woman elected to Westminster. That year she published The Price of My Soul, in an effort to explain how the situation in Northern Ireland had catapulted her into activist politics. Devlin, a socialist republican, was part of the ‘Battle of the Bogside’ and was sent to jail afterwards for ‘incitement to riot’. In 1972, Bernadette Devlin slapped the home secretary, Reginald Maudling, over his comments on ‘Bloody Sunday’ when 13 people were killed in Derry after a civil rights march. In 1973 Devlin married Michael McAliskey. In 1974 they helped form the Irish Republican Socialist Party and she lost her seat in Parliament. In 1981, the McAliskeys were victims of an attempted assassination by the Ulster Defence Association. Bernadette currently co-ordinates a not-for-profit community development organisation the South Tyrone Empowerment Programme (STEP).  In 2011, Lelia Doolan’s documentary Bernadette: Notes on a Political Journey was released.
http://vimeo.com/97304714

Ailbhe Smyth

A senior academic at UCD for many years, Ailbhe Smyth co-founded the Women’s Education, Research and Resource Centre (WERRC) in 1990, and was WERRC Director for 15 years. She has published extensively in Ireland and internationally on feminist issues. Ailbhe has been active in feminist, LGBT, and radical politics since the late 1970s. She is also chair or a board member of various NGO and community organisations. Ailbhe now works as an educator and consultant with community and voluntary sector organisations.
http://vimeo.com/98489957

Markievicz lecture -Dr. Leeann Lane (Mater Dei/DCU)  

Dr Leeann Lane is Head of Irish Studies and Head of the School of Humanities at the Mater Dei Institute of Education, Dublin City University. She is the author of Rosamond Jacob: Third Person Singular (2010). She is a member of the ‘Expert Advisory Group on the Decade of Commemorations’ appointed by the Government in 2012. http://vimeo.com/97279057

Women & Violence

Margaret Martin, Women's Aid

As Director of Women’s Aid since 2004, Margaret is responsible for the long term development of the organisation, leading change and creating future possibilities. In 2007, she received the James Larkin 'Thirst for Justice' Award from the Labour Party, which recognises outstanding work on social justice issues bridging the gap between 'what is and what ought to be' in Irish Society. Margaret has 20 years’ experience in education and training, working particularly with marginalised and disadvantaged women’s education groups. She acted as consultant for NGO representatives on the Task Force on Violence Against Women. Margaret was a volunteer member of Dublin Rape Crisis Centre in the 1980’s, and prior to joining Women’s Aid, worked as Projects Manager for the NWCI.
http://vimeo.com/97310714

Nusha Yonkova, The Immigrant Council 

Nusha Yonkova is the anti-trafficking coordinator at the Immigrant Council of Ireland (ICI). She joined the ICI in 2004, firstly in communications, then as an information officer consulting and supporting migrants. Originally from Bulgaria, Nusha is a qualified engineer and holds a Masters of Arts Degree in Intercultural Studies from Dublin City University. Since 2007, Nusha has coordinated the diverse anti-trafficking work at the ICI and has significant expertise in producing and coordinating research and policy documents in this area. In 2008, Nusha became the first migrant woman elected to the National Women’s Council of Ireland’s board.  Since 2013, Nusha is Chair of the Board of the European Network of Migrant Women, a pan European network. Nusha has been recently awarded a scholarship under the Irish Research Council Government of Ireland Employment Based Postgraduate Programme and will be embarking on research in the  area of  human  trafficking.
http://vimeo.com/97311729

Dearbhail McDonald, The Irish Independent

Dearbhail McDonald is Associate Editor and Legal Editor of the Irish Independent. A global Eisenhower Fellow, the author and broadcaster sits on the board of Fighting Words, the creative writing centre for students of all ages. She published her first book Bust: How the Courts Have Exposed the Rotten Heart of the Irish Economy (Penguin Ireland) in 2010. Dearbhail holds an LL.B (Law) from Trinity College Dublin as well as a Masters Degree in Journalism from Dublin City University. A former news correspondent with The Sunday Times, Dearbhail has won a series of awards for her legal affairs coverage and is a former Young Irish Medical Journalist of the Year.
http://vimeo.com/97340600

Young Women & Feminism 

Aoife Campbell, NWCI Y -Factor  Project

Aoife Campbell is a member of the National Women’s Council’s Y Factor steering group committee. The Y Factor is a project which aims to give a voice to young people on issues of gender equality and is currently focusing on promoting better knowledge and access to health care for young women in Ireland. Studying for a masters in Equality Studies from the UCD School of Social Justice, Aoife is undertaking research into the accessibility of maternity services for migrant women. Aoife is also involved with Re(al)-Productive Health, a working group which campaigns for better access to emergency contraception in Ireland and she currently works as a support worker in a women’s homeless project.
http://vimeo.com/98489958

Eileen Flynn, Traveller Activist

Eileen Flynn is a young woman from the travelling community who has been engaged in her community from a young age. She has worked in the Irish Traveller Movement, as the national education officer and is now a voluntary worker with the ITM. Eileen was chairperson of Ballyfermot Travellers Action Programme for several years and is now one of the directors. She is also a volunteer in The Base youth centre in Ballyfermot, where she has been involved in representing young people on the board.  Eileen has experienced inequality of access and opportunity throughout life and has come through by learning that education is the key to success and change. Her long term goal is to educate herself to masters’ levels and obtain a specialty in the area of gender inequality. Eileen hopes to eventually secure employment in a role which will challenge inequalities across Irish society and beyond.

Úna Mullally, TheIrish Times

Una Mullally is a journalist and broadcaster with the Irish Times and TG4. She is on the Board of the GAZE International LGBT Film Festival, co-founded Come Rhyme With Me a queer spoken word night that acts as a fundraising mechanism for Outhouse, and co-founded OneTwoOneTwo a music documentary festival. Her first book is out late 2014.
http://vimeo.com/98530031

2014 Programme