Girl Power and Publications
- Charlotte Rose Troy
- Apr 24, 2023
- 3 min read
Dun Emer Press and educating women
Welcome back to the home of unoriginal thinking. Today we are reflecting back on some of the research seminars I attended this year. It was very hard to decide which of the seminars I would like to focus on. This post is going to discuss the seminar "Spreading the News: Publishing, Networks, and the Dun Emer Press." This seminar was led by Caoilfhionn Ní Bheacháin from the University of Limerick and focused primarily on providing information about its founders and their long-lasting impact on publishing in Ireland.
"Education of the work-girls. . . some of them, we hope, will become teachers to others, so that similar industries may spread throughout the land" ( Gleeson- Dun Emer, General Prospectus, 1903).
One aspect of the seminar that really stood out for me was the emphasis on female education. Dun Emer Press (which went on to become Cuala Press in 1908) was an all-female workforce. It was started by three women; Evelyn Gleeson, Elizabeth, and Lily Yeats. While this whole publishing house seems like a pure symbol of girl power, it is important to stress its longer-term goals. Dun Emer Press was not just focused on providing the first private press firm in Dublin. Up until then, people still had to travel to London to make any real impact in publishing. A central interest was giving back to the community and offering opportunities to women that were not readily available.
Although 1902 was not that long ago (only a bit over a century), there were still many restrictions on women's ability to access education in Ireland. During the nineteenth century men and women were offered very different forms of education. In general, this was because women were not seen to need the same education in the same way. Men were being educated so that they could find employment, while women were to be taught for 'accomplishments considered suitable for young ladies' (Breathnach 47). In simple terms, teaching women can be seen to be a symbolic gesture. No one was expecting that women would need employment, nor that they should be working. This point really applies to women from upper-class or middle-class families.
Spoiler alert: the situation does not get any better for women from less fortunate backgrounds. Yes, those women are conveniently forgotten about. Well not forgotten they just don't count for as much I guess. These young girls rarely had to worry about being denied access to universities, because they rarely got the chance to even finish primary school. The issue of Irish female education had been a long-term problem within the country. It was such a cause of concern that in 1876 Anna Haslam founded the Dublin Women's Suffrage Association, whose main focus was the role of education for women (O'Neill 126). Yikes. It is clear that Ireland at this time, did not have the much consideration for young women and their education.
This really does make the work being done at Dun Emer that much more important. Young girls who had just finished school were not just finding employment, but getting hands on craft experience. Girls entered Dun Emer getting to learn an endless amount of skills; typography, embroidery, type-setting, and composition. While not all these women were going to stay within the industry, this does not undo the life-long impact made at Dun Emer. The attitude of the publishing house is best expressed in a poem written by Susan L. Mitchell titled 'Cuala Abu!'.
"Gladly we come to our work every morning,
Daughters of Ireland, faithful and true;
Some setting stitches to help your adorning,
Some printing magic words, Cuala, for you" (Mitchell, "Cuala Abu!", Women of the Cuala Press.).
In conclusion, this seminar really struck a chord with me. It was a great reminder of how far we have come as a country in terms of education. It is also painful to recall that these issues faced by Irish women were not that long ago. As a young woman who has had the chance to receive third-level education in Ireland (and a little extra), it is a surreal experience to see the way Irish women have been excluded within the workforce and in education. For all my ladies reading this, please remember that the struggle for women was not that long ago. In some countries, this is still an ongoing battle. The seminar helped me put a lot of things into perspective, hopefully I won't get too stressed the next time I find myself bogged down with three essays, a blog, and tutoring classes to complete.
Until next time,
Stay Unoriginal.
Works Cited
Breathnach, Eilean. "Women and Higher Education in Ireland (1874-1914)," The Crane Bag, no.1, 1980.
Gleeson, Evelyn. "General Prospectus", Dun Emer, 1903.
O’Neill, Marie. "The Dublin Women’s Suffrage Association and its Successors", Dublin Historical Record, no.4, 1985.
Mitchell, Susan L. "Women of the Cuala Press" Trinity Univesity Dublin, Published on the 14-12-20. https://www.tcd.ie/library/manuscripts/blog/2020/12/women-of-the-cuala-press/ Accessed on 24-4-23.
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