A Commission for Seanad Éireann

Alice Stopford Green, Ellen Cuffe (Countess of Desart), Jennie Wyse Power and Eileen Costello, the first four women elected to Seanad Éireann in 1922 

Photography Dickon Whitehead

In late 2022, Stroude was commissioned by the Office of Public Works to create portraits of the first four women elected to the first Seanad Éireann in 1922. The paintings are now part of the State Collection at Leinster House and hang at the top of the Seanad stairs.

Prior to the Commission, Stroude was unfamiliar with the lives of Alice Stopford Green, Ellen Cuffe (Countess of Desart) , Jennie Wyse Power and Eileen Costello. Through research she discovered four diversely different women who are all equally interesting and who all contributed significantly to the Ireland we live in today. In brief:

Alice was a historian, a nationalist writer, a member of Cumann na Saoirse and a close confident to Michael Collins.

Ellen was a philanthropist and a humanitarian. Anyone familiar with Kilkenny will know her name well as she put in place the hospital, the theatre, factories and businesses that provided jobs and income for its people.

Jennie was a leading suffragist, a founding member of Cumann na mBan and later Cumann na Saoirse. She was active during the Easter Rising and the War of Independence.  It was at her shop on Henry St that the proclamation was signed before being brought to the GPO. She was also Vice President of Sinn Féin.

Eileen Costello was also a member of Cumann na Saoirse. She was a collector of Irish songs and music for Irish Schools and Gaelic League classes. She had a strong voice in the Seanad, promoting and pushing for equality for women.

They were women with great presence of mind, determination and a heartfelt commitment to Ireland and its people. In painting them, she has reflected these qualities and brought colour and vivacity to their images, and the way in which they are remembered. The format of the portraits is intimate, an invitation to meet with them face to face as individuals.