Countess Constance Markievicz from Ireland

A suffragette, revolutionary and nationalist, Countess Constance Markievicz (1868-1927) was the first woman elected to Westminster and the first Irish and European Female Cabinet Minister. She had her role in the Irish General Lockout, a major dispute between workers seeking better pay and the right to join a trade union, and their employers, who saw unions as a threat to the status quo. The Countess, in fact, helped establish soup kitchens to feed the starving workers. The stamp was issued by An Post in August 2013 to commemorate the first centenary of this event and it is part of a series of three.