Cumann Na MBan, Irish Womens Republican Movement Founded

Cumann na mBan, (the ‘League of Women’), was an Irish republican women’s paramilitary organisation formed on 2 April 1914 as an auxilliary of the Irish Volunteers (IV). Although it was otherwise an independent organization, its executive was subordinate to that of the IV.

Cumann na mBan, the ‘League of Women’, was formed in 1914 as an auxiliary corps, to complement the Irish Volunteer Force (IVF). Its recruits were from diverse backgrounds, mainly white-collar workers and professional women, but with a significant proportion also from the working class. Although it was otherwise an independent organization, its executive was subordinate to that of the Volunteers. This prompted allegations regarding its ‘crawling servility’, which were bitterly rejected by its more active members.

In September 1914, the Volunteer movement split over Redmond’s appeal for its members to enlist in the British Army. Most of Cumann na mBan supported the rump of 2-3,000 who rejected this call, and who retained the original name, the IVF.