Sheila Humphreys | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1899-03-12)12 March 1899 County Limerick, Ireland |
| Died | 14 March 1994(1994-03-14) (aged 95) Harold's Cross,Dublin, Ireland |
| Other names | Sighle |
| Organization | Cumann na mBan |
| Known for | Political activism |
| Spouse | Domhnall O'Donoghue |
Sheila Humphreys, also known asSighle Humphreys (12 March 1899 – 14 March 1994), was an Irish republican and member ofCumann na mBan.
Sheila Humphreys, born Margaret Humphreys,[1][2] lived at 18 The Crescent, Limerick, in a wealthy family and was raised at Quinsborough House, County Clare. She was the only daughter of Dr David Humphreys andNell Humphreys (née Mary Ellen Rahilly).[3] Her father suffered fromtuberculosis and died when she was four years old. Her mother was the sister of Michael Joseph Rahilly, "The O'Rahilly", who was killed during the 1916Easter Rising. Her two brothers, Emmet andDick, attendedPearse'sSt Enda's School and Dick served alongside The O'Rahilly in the GPO in 1916.[3] The family moved to 54Northumberland Road, Dublin in 1909. Humphreys attendedMount Anville Secondary School,[4] where she was head girl and became a fluent Irish speaker.
She joinedCumann na mBan in 1919, aged 20, an organisation founded in response to the dearth of women at theSinn Féin Convention of October 1917. She served variously as secretary, director of publicity and national vice-president.[3] She was on the committee of the Irish Volunteer Dependants' Fund after the Rising and engaged in finding safe-houses for those on the run. She was a life long friend of fellow Cumann na mBan leaderMaire Comerford.[5] The large family home at 36Ailesbury Road was used as an IRA safe house throughout theWar of Independence and the Dáil cabinet often met there.
Humphreys also spent a year in Paris (1919–20).
The family took the anti-Treaty position during theCivil War and its home was the object of regular raids by Free State forces.[6] The most significant event took place on 4 November 1922 when IRA assistant chief of staffErnie O'Malley was severely wounded and arrested in a protracted shoot-out with Free State soldiers. At the time, only Humphreys, her mother and aunt were in the house with O'Malley. Humphreys played an active part in resisting the raid, though she always denied reports that she was responsible for shooting a Free State soldier who died in the fighting. She always said that Ernie O'Malley, "a soldier above all", was responsible.[7] The incident is described in detail in O'Malley's memoir of the Civil War,The Singing Flame.[8][9][10][11]
After her arrest following this raid, Humphreys took part in the nationwide1923 Irish Hunger Strikes. She was placed in solitary confinement before finally being released on 29 November 1923 after a thirty-one day hunger strike.[12]
The Ailsbury Road raid was the subject of a 2003 hour-longdocudrama entitledThe Struggle. The film was directed and scripted by Humphrey's grandsonsManchán Magan andRuán Magan and produced byRTÉ.[13]
Humphreys continued her involvement with Cumann na mBan after the Civil War, contributing significantly to the republican movement throughout the 1920s and 1930s. She became the Cumann representative on the Republican Council in 1929. She was in Mountjoy Jail in 1926, 1927, 1928, and 1931. In 1928, she went on a six-day hunger strike, and was designated as a political prisoner.[11] Despite her affluent background, Humphreys was active in the socialist republican organisationSaor Éire, serving as the group's co-treasurer from 1931. In 1934, she resigned from theRepublican Congress, but her Sinn Féin principles were more important, as they had criticised the IRA.[14]
She married Domhnall O'Donoghue (1897–1957), a member of Dublin Brigade IRA. They had two children, Dara and Cróine. Her husband was imprisoned in 1936 for making seditious speeches. She tried to keep the Cumann going following the president's resignation, in 1941, she briefly served as Cumann na mBan's president. She served as President of the St Vincent de Paul Society (1937–1975), and also the Political Prisoners Committee until 1949; although she continued to support the Prisoners Dependants campaigns, necessarily for women (1951–89). Her causes continued to be consistently those of Sinn Féin: anti-EEC, and very strongly Catholic, promoting the Mass on television, all in theIrish language.[citation needed]
In the 1940s and 50s O'Donoghue became involved with the Irish republican political partyClann na Poblachta on its foundation and stood as a Clann candidate in the 1948 general election. He died in 1957. In the 1970s and 80s Sighle Humphreys supported Republican prisoners and their families, she also supportedSinn Féin and theAnti H-Block campaign.[15] Humphreys continued to live at their home in Donnybrook for many years. She died, aged 95, atOur Lady's Hospice, Harold's Cross on 14 March 1994. Shelia Humphreys was buried atGlasnevin Cemetery, Dublin.[16]
