Labour in Ireland. Labour in Irish History and The Re-conquest of Ireland. With an introduction by Robert Lynd. Dublin: Maunsel, 1917. Second Edition. Pp xxxviii, 346, [16]. Publisher’s blue cloth boards, title lettered in gilt to spine, blind stamped to upper cover. Covers faded with shelf-wear and rubbing to cloth, heavy foxing to title page & spotting to fore-edges, contents in nice bright condition.

Inscribed by Constance Markievicz:

Constance De Markievicz I.R.A. “We are ready to fight for the land we love. Be the chances great or small. we are ready to die for the flag above,. Be the chances nothing at all.” Printed just before the rebellion in James Connolly’s paper ‘The workers Republic’ “G.12″

Countess Markievicz, born Constance Georgine Gore-Booth, occupies a prominent position in the political and revolutionary history of early twentieth-century Ireland. A figure of considerable complexity, she was born into affluence and privilege at Lissadell House in County Sligo, yet chose to dedicate her life to the service of the impoverished and marginalised. Her most enduring legacy stems from her active participation in the Easter Rising of 1916 and the subsequent struggle for Irish independence, during which she repeatedly risked her life.

Markievicz’s political ideology was significantly shaped by her association with James Connolly, a leading socialist and trade unionist. In a reflective article published in The Nation in March 1927, she described Connolly’s mentorship:

“when he began to organise the Irish Citizen Army he brought me along, teaching me, as he got to know me, as a comrade, giving me any work that I could do, and quite ignoring the conventional attitude towards the work of women.”

In the wake of Connolly’s execution, Markievicz composed a poetic tribute that encapsulates both personal grief and political idealism:

You died for your Country my Hero-love
In the first grey dawn of spring;
On your lips was a prayer to God above
That your death would have helped to bring
Freedom and Peace to the land you love,
Love above everything.