ICA 100 Years Bree Co Wexford

Sir Horace Plunkett, founder father of the Irish Co-operative movement, had long been thinking of a women's organisation allied to the IAOS. In his address to the annual general meeting of the IAOS at Plunkett House, Merrion Square, Dublin on 29th November 1910, he said: " Long ago, we should, following the precedent of the Women's Co-operative Guild in Britain, have appealed to leading women within our movement to try and organise their sex for three purposes; firstly to attend to women's business in the life of a community, which no man least of all an old bachelor like myself, can understand; secondly, to see that farmers attend better to the business of their organisation and make them as helpful to women and the household as they are to me on the farm; and thirdly, for Irish women to take up their rightful part in the building up of a rural civilisation in Ireland." Patrick Bolger in his book The Irish Co-operative Movement- its history and development, published by Institute of Public Administration, Dublin , 1977 wrote: "The major inspiration came from the remarkable address entitled "The Building up of a Rural Civilisation deliver by AE ( George Russell) at the annual general meeting of the IAOS in December 1909. So profound was the impression made on the ladies attending that they came out of the meeting to embark immediately on the organising work. Mrs Elice Pilkington, sister of Sir Thomas Esmonde ( member of the IAOs) committee 1898-1906) was appointed first honorary organiser. Another Wexford woman, Mrs Harold Lett of Enniscorthy, formed the first branch at Bree on 15 June 1910, and shortly afterwards was elected first President of the national organisation. The United Irishwomen was registered as a co-operative society and invited to hold its committee meetings in the Plunkett House. Shortly before Christmas 1910, Mrs Pilkington travelled to Dungloe, County Donegal " heralded by a telegram from Fr Tom Finlay and carrying a passport in Irish from the President of the Gaelic League". With the help of Patrick Gallagher of the Templecrone Co-operative, she organised a branch of the United Irishwomen in Dungloe with a membership of 200. Back in County Wexford, Mrs Pilkington organised four more branches at Davidstown, Oylegate, Glenbrien and Coolgreaney, before moving westward to form the first Munster branch at Kilkee, Co. Clare. The first guild at Bree was greatly helped by that remarkable co-operator, Frederick Johnson, officially known as Johnson Pasha, a Turkish-born Irishman living at Ballinapierse, Enniscorthy and a founder member of the Enniscorthy Co-operative Agricultural Society." The United Irishwomen was named the Irish Countrywomen's Association (ICA) in the 1930s. Today, the ICA is a national organisation of approximately 15,000 members in guilds all over Ireland who are engaged in educational, social and cultural activity and community development and local and national issues that affect women. The ICA adult education college at An Grianan, Termonfeckin, Co. Louth is open to men and women. -Report by Michael Freeman, December 2010.