Julia Grenan | |
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| Born | Julia Grenan (1883-07-02)July 2, 1883 Dublin, Ireland |
| Died | January 6, 1972(1972-01-06) (aged 88) Dublin, Ireland |
| Other names | Sheila Grenan |
| Partner | Elizabeth O'Farrell |
Julia Grenan (Sighle, Sheila, 2 July 1883 – 6 January 1972) was an Irish nationalist,republican, suffragette and socialist and member ofCumann na mBan, best known for being one of the three last women to leave theHeadquarters during theEaster Rising of 1916.
Julia Grenan was born in 2 July 1883 to Patrick Grenan, a joiner of Lombard Street in Dublin near to whereElizabeth O'Farrell grew up.[1] She had two brothers and was the only girl. Her mother was Elizabeth Kenny, daughter of Hugh Kenny, who died in 1900 from chronic bronchitis, amongst other ailments. She went to the Sisters of Mercy school and after that became a dressmaker.[2][3] Most of her life was spent with O'Farrell, the two girls being childhood friends and growing up together. As women they were strong nationalists, spoke Irish and joined the various organisations in Dublin like theGaelic League, theIrish Women's Franchise League and theIrish Women Workers' Union. In 1906, they joinedInghinidhe na hÉireann, and went on to become members of the Inghinidhe branch ofCumann na mBan soon after its creation in 1914.[3]During the 1913Dublin Lock-out they supported the workers. They worked withConstance Markievicz to try to prevent recruitment into the British Armed forces. She trained them both in the use of firearms.[3]
Once the Rising was planned, and the day before it began Markievicz ensured they were central to the action by directing them to Liberty Hall to introduce them to theIrish Citizen Army leaderJames Connolly and ensuring he knew they were to be trusted.[3]
Grenan was sent toDundalk andCarrickmacross to deliver dispatches to the republican units there. O'Farrell was sent west. On their return they worked out of the General Post Office as couriers and nurses. They also ensured delivery of ammunition from the GPO to the College of Surgeons garrison, hiding the weapons under their clothes. Along with her friendElizabeth O'Farrell, andJames Connolly's aide de camp,Winifred Carney, she cared for the wounded including Connolly whose ankle was shattered by a bullet on the 27th. The three women refused to leave when the rest of the women were evacuated until the Friday night when they retreated with the leaders to Moore Street.[4][5] Grenan and O'Farrell nursed the wounded there until the final surrender was decided.[6][7][8] O'Farrell was handed aRed Cross insignia and a white flag and asked to deliver the surrender to the British military. Grenan watched her from the door as O'Farrell walked out into heavy fire.[3][7][8]
Grenan was arrested with the men from Moore street and initially kept overnight in the gardens at the Rotunda.[7] They were then taken to Richmond Barracks and finally imprisoned with the rest of the women arrested inKilmainham Gaol until 9 May. While she heard the executions their wardress originally told the prisoners that the shots were from ongoing fighting. Grenan continued her work forCumann na mBan with her friend O'Farrell. They carried dispatches during theIrish War of Independence. After theAnglo-Irish Treaty was signed in 1921 they remained Anti-Treaty and remained hostile to the Free State.[3]
They collected funds during theIrish Civil War for the families of the anti-Treaty prisoners and continued to attend republican functions. Eventually in 1933 they resigned from theCumann feeling that the organisation had drifted away from their beliefs. Both women gave their support to the1956–62 IRA border campaign.[3] Because O'Farrell was the woman who actually delivered the surrender she tends to be the better remembered of the couple. In the years after the Rising and wars Grenan worked for theIrish Hospital Sweepstakes office inBallsbridge and also as a furrier in Dublin. The two women lived together at 27 Lower Mount Street, Dublin.[3][8]
Julia Grenan died in Dublin on 6 January 1972 and was buried alongsideElizabeth O'Farrell, who had died in 1957, in the republican plot in Glasnevin cemetery, Dublin.[3] That Elizabeth and Julia were romantic partners is now widely considered to be the case.[9][10][11][12] The significant closeness they displayed, the fact they lived together for 30 years, the fact that neither was ever married to a man and the fact they were buried beside each other are all considered indicators of a more intimate relationship than publicly stated. Similarly, their comrades in the 1916 Rising,Kathleen Lynn andMadeleine ffrench-Mullen, are also considered to be another "unstated" couple, as wereMargaret Skinnider andNora O'Keeffe,[10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17] all of whom were featured, along withEva Gore-Booth and others, in a 2023TG4 documentary about "the radical queer women at the very heart of the Irish Revolution":Croíthe Radacacha (Radical Hearts).[11][12]
