Swedish version
	Constance Markievicz, or Connie Gore-Booth, was born in Lissadell, County Sligo, 1868. She was "the Red Countess" who fought on the barricades of Dublin. The British sent her to prison for her part in the Easter Rising. Constance Markievicz was the first woman to be elected to the United Kingdom Parliament. She refused to take that seat and instead she joined the revolutionary Dáil Éireann, the Irish parliament that declared Irish independence in 1919. Constance Markievicz was Minister of Labour in the Irish government of 1919 - 1921. Thus she was the first female government minister in any modern democracy. "The Red Countess" died in 1927.
	First published: Sunday 27th October, 1996. Send a to the author! You may also use this form