Women’s role in War of Independence revealed

Hiding arms, providing safe houses, and monitoring enemy movements all part of republican women’s role, writes Niall Murray

NEWLY discovered first-hand accounts of the role of rural Cork women in the War of Independence read like the screenplay to a spy thriller.

The collection, being handed over to the public archives in Cork, contains hundreds of letters, formal documents, photographs and other materials from Molly Cunningham, a local leader of Cumann na mBan.