Conclusion

Summary

The conclusion evaluates the overall impact of the Great War on women’s lives in Ireland, exploring the extent to which Irish women felt their lives had been irrevocably changed by the war, and analysing how the war affected women’s lives at the time and their position in society. The chapter reflects on the diversity of Irish women’s experience of the war, noting the demographic, regional, religious and socio-economic factors affecting that experience. The divergences between north and south are particularly noted with the book arguing that women’s voluntary work for the war effort accentuated the differences between Ulster and southern Ireland and accelerated the process of psychological partition. It further addresses the question of emancipation, arguing that while in many respects the war had a politicising impact upon Irish women, it also served to reinforce the gendered idea of the separate spheres. The chapter briefly discusses the emphasis on motherhood and domesticity in the Irish Free State. It concludes however with a reminder of the importance of considering how women actually experienced the upheaval of war.