The campaign for women's votes in Ireland coincided with the nationalist movement, the First World War, the rise of the trade union movement, the cultural revival and, of course, the 1916 Rising. It culminated in 1918, with Ireland electing the first woman to parliament in London. However, the Irish suffrage movement was not a single-issue group. It did not merely campaign for votes, but also presented a feminist critique of the plight of Irish women in early twentieth-century society.

The Irish Citizen newspaper, as the voice of the suffrage movement, provides an important insight into the various campaigns and concerns of this fascinating movement. The paper was self-consciously feminist, and, in addition to covering the major events of this tumultuous period, it addressed taboo subjects like rape, domestic violence, and child abuse. This book brings together extracts from the paper with analysis, commentary, and informative contextual background. First published in 1996 by Folena as "Irish Feminism and the Vote", this new edition has been comprehensively updated and revised.