NORTHERN IRELAND: The Women and the Gunmen

EVERY bit as fierce-minded as their men, women have historically played a distinctive role in the troubles of Ireland. From the near legendary Countess Markievicz (Constance Gore-Booth), who was one of the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising, to the black-bereted Provisional I.R.A. women of today, they have preached belligerence, run guns, helped plant bombs and provided sanctuary. The Catholic women of Belfast and Londonderry have been a not-so-secret weapon of the I.R.A.—lookouts who raised a racket by banging garbage-can lids when British soldiers approached, or shielded fugitive gunmen when squads...

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