Today we #TakeBackPride for Irish Republicans and nurses Elizabeth O’Farrell and Julia Grenan, who are just two of several often-overlooked lesbian women to play a role in the struggle for a Irish Independence.
The pair were also lifelong partners.
Both women were stationed at the GPO to care for the wounded during the 1916 Easter Rising.
Elizabeth is best known for carrying the white flag and delivering the surrender with Patrick Pearse. After the Easter Rising she was imprisoned in Kilmainham Jail.
Though Elizabeth and Julia’s relationship has been debated and erased by historians (much like lesbian identity in the gay community today), the role of lesbians in shaping Ireland's history is a story worth remembering.
