WITH CHARLES STEWART Parnell’s birthplace set for redevelopment over the next few years, the issue of commemorating the Nationalist leader’s sisters has been raised. 

A total of €8 million is set to be invested by the government in the redevelopment of Avondale House and Forest Park in Co Wicklow over the next three years. Located along the River Arranmore, Avondale was home to the Parnells from 1795 onwards. 

But with a redeveloped Avondale and Forest Park set to open in 2021, local Labour representative Ian McGahon is calling on the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht to recognise the contribution of Parnell’s sisters, Anna and Fanny, both of whom played a key role in late 19th century Irish politics. 

Anna Parnell (1852-1911) co-founded the Ladies Land League in 1881, was organised in six countries and had 321 branches nationwide. As the group’s leader, Anna Parnell provided welfare and assistance to the people of Ireland throughout a period of nationalist dissent and widespread evictions. 

After the visit of Land League leader Michael Davitt to New York to fundraise for the cause of the Irish Land League, the Parnell sisters spearheaded a campaign which raised thousands of pounds for the cause in America. 

On her return to Ireland, Anna became the effective leader of the Ladies’ Irish National Land League. The Parnell sisters also took over the work of the Irish Land League after its male leaders were imprisoned.

The Irish National Land League was founded in 1879 by Charles Stewart Parnell and Davitt with the aim of abolishing landlordism in Ireland and campaign for tenants rights. 

‘Written out of history’

McGahon is calling for Irish nationalist and poet Fanny Parnell (1848-1882), Anna’s older sister, to be acknowledged under the revamp, too, as co-founder of the Ladies Land League. 

“Their legacy is huge really. They were pre-Suffragettes in terms of women’s organisations,” says McGahon. 

Anna Parnell drowned while swimming and was buried in Ilfracombe, Devon where she’d lived during her final years. 

Anna Parnell's headstone in Ilfracombe, Devon. DFA.ie DFA.ie

In 2017, a local campaign resulted in a headstone for Anna, funded by the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.

Part of the government’s investment includes a tour “which will celebrate the life and times of Charles Stewart Parnell at Avondale House,” the department has said. 

Parnell, who championed the cause of Home Rule for Ireland, was the leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party until his death in 1891. 

“But if there are discussions around exhibits…then they need to equally reflect the importance of the work of the two women,” says McGahon. “This about including them in the conversation.”

“Women often get written out of history in terms of their work,” McGahon has said. ”The Parnells legacy has been largely forgotten.”