Women and Violence in the Irish Wars

The actions of over 300 women during the War of Independence was critical to enable the fight to continue. Women smuggled weapons and ammunition into Ireland, relayed communications from area to area, and were active in the production of republican propaganda and the running of the Republican Courts.  The nature of guerrilla warfare dictated that the men of the IRA were ‘on the run’ most of the time, moving from place to place to escape arrest. It was the women of Cumann na mBan who arranged and provided safe houses where men rested and received food and medical treatment for their wounds.

Such activities, or even suspected involvement with the IRA, put women in a dangerous position. Many women were attacked and punished for their actions or associations. The shearing of women’s hair was a tactic used by both the IRA and the British Auxiliary forces to punish and deter women from interacting with enemy combatants, and for any other perceived crime. There are many recorded incidents of women across Ireland being terrorised by being taken from their homes at night and their hair violently cut, as well as other acts of violence and sexual assault.

Such violence against both combatant and civilian women has been common in warfare across the world for centuries as a method of punishment, degradation and control. It became more common in the aftermath of World War II, which saw French women ‘collaborators’ shorn in retribution for their relationships with German officers.