In 2023, Galway City Council, Galway Public Libraries, and Galway City Museum presented “Reflections,” a programme commemorating the remarkable Irish women of 1923 presented as part of the Decade of Centenaries initiative, supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sports, and Media.
The project served as a heartfelt tribute to the women who shaped Irish history during a pivotal era. It offered a platform for in-depth discussions, artist residencies, and creative exploration of their lives and contributions. Artists in residence included Áine Philips, Emily Cullen, and Tracy Bruen who worked with local women to co-create original works, leading to the formation of three new community collectives and the commissioning of three artworks.
The finale of the project was a public performance at St Nicholas Collegiate Church. It was a performance of Visual Art, Literature, and Music, showcasing the Dun Emer Eastside Collective’s visually stunning banners led by visual artist Áine Philips. The banners celebrated and remembered the women of 1923 and 100 years of Irish women’s achievements. The banners were paraded through the streets of Galway to Saint Nicholas’s Collegiate Church and served as a backdrop for musical and spoken word performances.
The Comhrá na mBan Centenary Westside Writers Group led by writer Emily Cullen, presented boldly imaginative poems in a vibrant performance, bridging a fluid conversation across time between Irish women of 1923 and the contemporary moment.
The Women’s Centenary Choir Galway City led by musician and singer-songwriter Tracy Bruen, this multicultural and multigenerational women’s choir performed songs honoring the women of the past, present, and future, reflecting the diversity and strength of the women of Galway City.
“Reflections” is not just a historical tribute, but a creative interpretation of the significant contributions made by women during that era. It stands as a testament to the strength, resilience, and creativity of Irish women in the past and present.
The project received the Chambers Ireland Local Authority Award in 2024 under the Sustaining the Arts category.
The Dún Emer Eastside Collective
The Dún Emer Eastside Collective is a community of women from the Eastside of Galway city who came together to create a trilogy of feminist memorial banners in response to the Decade of Centenaries initiative ‘Reflections – A Commemoration of the Irish Women of 1923.
The group’s name references the influential crafts studio The Dún Emer Guild founded in 1902 by Evelyn Gleeson and sisters Elizabeth and Lily Yeats whose innovative designs and diverse hand sewn artefacts inspired the contemporary banners created for this project.
The Dún Emer Eastside Collective met over six months in Ballybane Library to design and produce the three double sided banners. The members of the group are Helen Flynn, Helen Monaghan, Petra Bhreatnach, Rowena Carr, Anita Dillon, Clare Smyth, Demelza Lynn, Lizzy Dargle, Marielle MacLeman and Sona Smedkova. The collective was led by visual artist Áine Phillips with special assistance from artist and writer Helen Flynn, who contributed extraordinary creative energy and organisational skills to the project.
The collective would like to thank Galway City Council, Galway City Museum and Galway Public Libraries, particularly the librarians of Ballybane Library for their support and hospitality.
Background to the Banners
The visual style of the banners reflect the work of the Dún Emer Guild and Cuala Press from the early 1900s. The imagery and motifs are inspired by their innovative Celtic / Irish Revivalist work and by visual art of women creators 100 years ago such as Grace Plunkett, Evie Hone and Mainie Jellett.
The banners also incorporate grids of smaller patches made by individual members of the collective and invited women contributors, depicting or reflecting some aspect of Irish women’s history.
The imagery and mottos on the banners express feminist views on Irish history, especially in relation to the shared traumas of women’s experience over the last 100 years and celebrate and amplify women’s collective artistic production over this time period.
Saint Brigid’s Banner represents an amalgamation of the ancient pagan goddess and 4th Century christian saint, based on an Evie Hone/ Cuala Press design from c. 1930. Brigid is shown with her monumental cloak enfolding and protecting a group of women and children.
The reverse side consists of a grid of individual patches created by the Collective and invited artists representing diverse aspects of women’s history and experience from 1923 – 2023. Titles and contributors are:
Top row from Left: Camille Souter, painter (1929 – 2023) by Alice Maher; Beady pocket by Teresa Corcoran, textile print by her daughter Jane Ward; “Triple Moon” symbol representing women, nature and cyclical change by Demelza Lynn and “Time Out” representing women’s work; making, recycling and repair by Joyce Little. Second row from Left: Grace Gifford Plunkett, artist and revolutionary (1888 -1955) by Rowen Carr; Mary Smith (nee Burke) business women and great grandmother by Vicky Smith; Inmate of Galway Womens Prison 1923 by Rowena Carr; Eileen Gray, Irish designer (1878 – 1976) by Marielle McLeman. Third row from Left: Alice Jacqueline Perry, County Engineer for Galway (1885 – 1969), by Louise Manifold; Constance Markievicz, Revolutionary politician (1868 – 1927) by Áine Phillips; Evie Hone, artist (1894 – 1955) by Petra Bhreathnach and Emily Anderson, code breaker (1891 – 1962) by Ashla Ward. Fourth row from Left: Toyen, Czech LGBTQ artist (1902 – 1980) by Sona Smedkova; Sheela na Gig (11th century) by Ruby Wallis; May Joyce Monaghan (1890 – 1966) with daughters, Oughterard 1923, by Helen Monaghan and Treasa Flynn (1952-2019) Victim of Church. Extract or writings from her daughter, Helen Flynn. Bottom row from Left: “Victims of Domestic Violence” by Anita Dillon; “In her shoes” (Repeal the 8th Amendment campaign 2018) by Clare Smyth; Sinéad O’Connor, singer-songwriter and producer (1966 – 2023) by Kat Cope and Rose Marie Maughan Traveller Activist by Breda Mayock.
100 Years of Irish Women Banner celebrates the centenary of Irish women’s achievements with the central image of female hands held in a gesture of provision, tribute and openness. The motto “Ní Neart Go Cur Le Chéile” translates as “No Strength Without Unity”.
The reverse side incorporates a spiral of 100 embroidered names of notable Irish women from 1923 – 2023 bordered by feminist motifs and emblems. The 100 names spiral was created by member of the Collective Petra Bhreatnach and includes the names of women of diverse and inclusive backgrounds who made contributions to Irish life over the last 100 years.
The Tree of Hope Banner is based on a Dún Emer Guild postcard design from c. 1905 depicting Yeats sisters, Elizabeth, and Lily by their sister-in-law Mary Cottenham Yeats.
Helen Flynn designed and created this contemporary interpretation. The banner shows Elizabeth carrying books and Lily holding an embroidered garment as they set out to build a female Arts and Crafts enterprise at the anticipated dawn of a new Independent Ireland.
The reverse side includes a contemporary interpretation of an abstract ‘ovary angel’ designed by Czech artist and member of the Collective Sona Smedkova.
All of the recent acquisitions to the Galway City Museum collection will be made available to view in greater detail online in the Collections section of this website in the coming months. As part of the collection each of the banners will now be cared for and preserved in the Museum Collection Rooms.
