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Woman on Bridge

A Dublin bridge may be named after this woman

But who is she?

DUBLIN CITY COUNCIL will decide whether a bridge should be named after suffragette and activist Dr Kathleen Lynn.

A motion passed today at the council’s South East Area Committee that will send the plan to name the Charlemont Bridge over the Grand Canal after Lynn to the Commemorative Naming Committee.

She founded the St Ultan’s Children’s Hospital in Dublin’s south inner city in 1919. Sinn Féin councillor Chris Andrews, who tabled the motion, said he did so to return a reference to the hospital to the area.

“Since the demolition of St. Ultan’s Hospital and the ffrench-Mullen flats, Charlemont Street is almost completely devoid of any reference to its past as the site of St. Ultan’s Children’s Hospital.

As well as founding Saint Ultan’s, Lynn was an active suffragette and a labour activist, as well as chief medical officer of the Irish Citizens’ Army during the 1916 Rising.

She was imprisoned in Kilmainham Gaol with Constance Markievicz, Madeline ffrench-Mullen and Helena Moloney.

In 1923 she was elected to Dáil Éireann, serving until 1927.

“Renaming the Charlemont Bridge in her honour in the year of the 60th anniversary of her death, and as we approach the centenary of the 1916 Rising, is an ideal way in which to commemorate her legacy, the Rising and the rich history of the local area,” said Andrews.

“I will be seeking the support of my fellow city councillors over the coming weeks to ensure this proposal becomes a reality”.

Extract: The passionate and inspirational women of the Irish Revolution – in photos

Read: From 1000 AD to Samuel Beckett: Dublin’s bridges in 10 fascinating facts…

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