Hanna Sheehy Skeffington--Bob A. Feldman
Channel: protestfolk
Date: 2011-02-09

A biographical folk song about the radical feminist and Irish nationalist political activist of the first half of the 20th century.
(lyrics)
"My husband, they murdered in Portobello Barracks
Then buried his body, tied up in a sack
Equal in marriage, we took one another's name
Sheehy-Skeffington is how we were known.

"We fought against war and for women's rights
Demanding the vote, we worked many nights
They jailed me for breaking Dublin Castle's windows
But after a hunger strike, they did let me go.

"Thirteen years married, we raised a child
In-between jailings and more hunger strikes
Then Easter Rebellion broke out in Dublin
My husband, they murdered, to take their revenge.

"To cover their murder, troops raided my home
Ransacked the study and shelves and the drawers
A wooden tribunal let the killers go free
But I now demanded a full inquiry.

"I traveled to London and refused hush money
Then sailed to the States, where I spoke openly
I told of the crimes of the British regime
And joined with Sinn Fein to make Ireland free.

"For many more years I continued the fight
For Ireland's freedom from the British crown
For freedom for women from male tyranny
For Feminist Power and equality."