Linda Mary MacWhinney (; 1 July 1888 – 5 June 1951) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

nurse and

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christian- ...

politician.

Early life

Born in Cloonagh, Dromard,

County Sligo County Sligo ( , gle, Contae Shligigh) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the Border Region and is part of the province of Connacht. Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in the county. Sligo County Council is the local ...

, she was one of eight children born to Thomas and Catherine "Nora" (née Clarke) Kearns. From 1907, she studied and trained to be a nurse. She had not been interested in

nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...

republicanism Republicanism is a political ideology centered on citizenship in a state organized as a republic. Historically, it emphasises the idea of self-rule and ranges from the rule of a representative minority or oligarchy to popular sovereignty. It ...

prior to the

Easter Rising The Easter Rising ( ga, Éirí Amach na Cásca), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the a ...

and had intended to serve as a nurse in France during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

until a chance meeting with

Thomas MacDonagh Thomas Stanislaus MacDonagh ( ga, Tomás Anéislis Mac Donnchadha; 1 February 1878 – 3 May 1916) was an Irish political activist, poet, playwright, educationalist and revolutionary leader. He was one of the seven leaders of the Easter Rising o ...

changed her mind and radicalised her.

Easter Rising

Two days after the insurgents seized the Dublin

GPO GPO may refer to: Government and politics * General Post Office, Dublin * General Post Office, in Britain * Social Security Government Pension Offset, a provision reducing benefits * Government Pharmaceutical Organization, a Thai state enterpris ...

during the

in April 1916, Kearns, a nurse, took over an empty building on

North Great George's Street North Great George's Street () is a street on the Northside of Dublin city first laid out in 1766 which connects Parnell Street with Great Denmark Street. It consists of opposing terraces of 4-storey over basement red-brick Georgian townhouses ...

. She hung a

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

flag above the door and welcomed casualties of the fighting, from both sides of the conflict. However, as she had treated republican volunteers during the uprising, the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

ordered Kearns to close her unofficial hospital. She did so, with great reluctance.

After the Rising

She realised she had skills that could be useful in times of war. After the Rising she went into private nursing. She was the nurse to the O'Connor Morris family in

Tullamore Tullamore (; ) is the county town of County Offaly in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is on the Grand Canal (Ireland), Grand Canal, in the middle of the county, and is the fourth most populous town in the Midland Region, Ireland, midlands reg ...

and traveled extensively with them. After Maurice O'Connor Morris's death on 11 February 1916, he left Linda an inheritance of £2,500. She was able to purchase a car, which would later come in useful during the

Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence () or Anglo-Irish War was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and British forces: the British Army, along with the quasi-mil ...

when she worked as a courier for

Michael Collins Michael Collins or Mike Collins most commonly refers to: * Michael Collins (Irish leader) (1890–1922), Irish revolutionary leader, soldier, and politician * Michael Collins (astronaut) (1930–2021), American astronaut, member of Apollo 11 and Ge ...

transporting information and sometimes arms. Her status as a nurse helped her evade detection until she was caught in November 1920 in Sligo transporting firearms. The county inspector reported her arrest as follows: In a statement to the

Bureau of Military History The Bureau of Military History in Ireland was established in January 1947 by Oscar Traynor TD, Minister for Defence and former Captain in the Irish Volunteers. The rationale for the establishment of the Bureau was to give individuals who played ...

in 1950, Kearns alleged she was badly beaten during her arrest by a

Black and Tan A black and tan is a beer cocktail made by layering a pale beer (usually pale ale) and a dark beer (usually stout). In Ireland, the drink is called a half and half because in Ireland the term "''black and tan''" is considered to be offensive. ...

Officer, so much so she suffered permanent damage to her teeth. She was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. She served time in a number of Irish prisons before being sent to Walton Prison in Liverpool, where she went on hunger strike. From there she was sent to

Mountjoy Prison Mountjoy Prison ( ga, Príosún Mhuinseo), founded as Mountjoy Gaol and nicknamed ''The Joy'', is a medium security men's prison located in Phibsborough in the centre of Dublin, Ireland. The current prison Governor is Edward Mullins. History ...

. In October 1921, she famously escaped from Mountjoy Jail with three other women, Mae Burke, Eileen Keogh, and

Eithne Coyle , occupation = Political Activist , spouse = Bernard O'Donnell , office = President of Cumann na mBan , term_start = 1926 , term_end = 1941 , predecessor = Constance Markievicz , successor = Margaret Langs ...

. The escape had been personally arranged by Michael Collins, and it made international headlines, featuring in the New York Times on 31 October 1921 under the heading "Four Women Break Jail". Following their escape, Kearns and her fellow escapees split up and were taken to individual safe houses. However, they were each visited by a man calling himself Seamus Burke, who had previously visited them in Mountjoy claiming to be an IRA man, and were told they needed to be regrouped. The four were not long back together when they were notified in a message from Michael Collins that Seamus Burke was, in fact, a British spy who was trying to regroup them so that they could all be re-arrested together. They were ordered to immediately move to an IRA training camp in Duckett's Grove, County Carlow. The four women remained there until the signing of the

Anglo-Irish Treaty The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty ( ga , An Conradh Angla-Éireannach), commonly known in Ireland as The Treaty and officially the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was an agreement between the government of the ...

. Her memoir, ''In Times of Peril, leaves from the Diary of Nurse Linda Kearns from Easter Week 1916 to Mountjoy 1921'' was edited by Annie M.P. Smithson in 1922. In 1924–25, she conducted a successful fundraising tour of Australia on behalf of Republican causes. Linda Kearns was one of five women elected to the executive of Fianna Fail when it was formed in 1926. She was elected to

Seanad Éireann Seanad Éireann (, ; "Senate of Ireland") is the upper house of the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann (the lower house). It is commonly called the Seanad or Senate and its memb ...

on the

Industrial and Commercial Panel The Industrial and Commercial Panel ( ga, An Rolla Tionscail Agus Tráchtála) is one of five vocational panels which together elect 43 of the 60 members of Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the Oireachtas (the legislature of Ireland). The Ind ...

in April 1938. She was defeated at the Seanad election of August 1938.

Personal life

She married Wilson Charles MacWhinney in 1929. MacWhinney was formerly a Commanding Officer in Derry Brigade IRA during the war of Independence before moving to Dublin in 1924. Together they had one daughter, Ann, in 1930.The Sligo Champion. "Linda Kearns: Nurse And Revolutionary". 2016, https://pressreader.com/@nickname10959165/csb_GRFOUWpyqCLI8X--JnbZtq2OWL6GFNBHGSpvbtd6CL7RWHpPKlCqh0KxE7n-fest. Accessed 26 Jan 2019.

References

External links

In times of peril: leaves from the diary of Nurse Linda Kearns from Easter week, 1916, to Mountjoy, 1921, edited by Annie M.P. Smithson
held at

Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinians in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Sa ...