Brigid Makowski
Encyclopedia
Brigid Makowski from the Bogside
in Derry
, Northern Ireland
, is a former member of Shannon
Town Commission and Clare County Council
. She was elected initially representing the Irish Republican Socialist Party
of which she was a founding member.
She was involved in the 1968 civil rights march in her native Derry. She married Leo Makowski a Polish-American whom she met in Philadelphia.
She joined the Irish American grouping Clann na Gael in Philadelphia, and proposed that a Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association
banner be included in the 1969 Saint Patrick's Day
parade. Originally she was a member of Sinn Féin
and sided with the Official wing during the 1970 split.
She disagreed however with the 1972 ceasefire and was a supporter of Seamus Costello
. She was called to testify at the Official Irish Republican Army court-martial
of Costello in Mornington
. She remarked after Costello had been dismissed that "Jesus could have testified on Costello's behalf and it wouldn't have changed the verdict." After Costello's expulsion from Official Sinn Féin and the Official IRA, she became a founding member of the Irish Republican Socialist Party
. She was elected in 1981 as a councillor to the Shannon Town Commission.
She was re-elected as an Independent after leaving the IRSP. She was later elected to Clare County Council in 1991. Makowski campaigned against the building of the visitor centre in Mullaghmore, in the Burren
. She later became a county councillor and for a while was considered a possible future TD for Clare. She retired from political life in 1999.
Bogside
The Bogside is a neighbourhood outside the city walls of Derry, Northern Ireland. The area has been a focus point for many of the events of The Troubles, from the Battle of the Bogside and Bloody Sunday in the 1960s and 1970s...
in Derry
Derry
Derry or Londonderry is the second-biggest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth-biggest city on the island of Ireland. The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Irish name Doire or Doire Cholmcille meaning "oak-wood of Colmcille"...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, is a former member of Shannon
Shannon, County Clare
Shannon or Shannon Town , named after the river near which it stands, is a town located in County Clare. It was given town status on 1 January 1982. The town is located just off the N19 road, a spur of the N18/M18 road between Limerick city and Ennis....
Town Commission and Clare County Council
Clare County Council
Clare County Council is the local authority which is responsible for County Clare in Ireland. The Council is responsible for Housing and Community, Roads and Transportation, Urban planning and Development, Amenity and Culture, and Environment....
. She was elected initially representing the Irish Republican Socialist Party
Irish Republican Socialist Party
The Irish Republican Socialist Party or IRSP is a republican socialist party active in Ireland. It claims the legacy of socialist revolutionary James Connolly, who founded the Irish Socialist Republican Party in 1896 and was executed after the Easter Rising of 1916.- History :The Irish Republican...
of which she was a founding member.
She was involved in the 1968 civil rights march in her native Derry. She married Leo Makowski a Polish-American whom she met in Philadelphia.
She joined the Irish American grouping Clann na Gael in Philadelphia, and proposed that a Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association
Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association
The Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association was an organisation which campaigned for equal civil rights for the all the people in Northern Ireland during the late 1960s and early 1970s...
banner be included in the 1969 Saint Patrick's Day
Saint Patrick's Day
Saint Patrick's Day is a religious holiday celebrated internationally on 17 March. It commemorates Saint Patrick , the most commonly recognised of the patron saints of :Ireland, and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland. It is observed by the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion , the Eastern...
parade. Originally she was a member of Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
and sided with the Official wing during the 1970 split.
She disagreed however with the 1972 ceasefire and was a supporter of Seamus Costello
Seamus Costello
Seamus Costello was a leader of Official Sinn Féin and the Official Irish Republican Army and latterly of the Irish Republican Socialist Party and the Irish National Liberation Army ....
. She was called to testify at the Official Irish Republican Army court-martial
Court-martial
A court-martial is a military court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment.Most militaries maintain a court-martial system to try cases in which a breach of...
of Costello in Mornington
Mornington, County Meath
Mornington is a coastal townland in County Meath, Ireland. Together with the neighbouring villages of Laytown and Bettystown it comprises the census town of Laytown-Bettystown-Mornington....
. She remarked after Costello had been dismissed that "Jesus could have testified on Costello's behalf and it wouldn't have changed the verdict." After Costello's expulsion from Official Sinn Féin and the Official IRA, she became a founding member of the Irish Republican Socialist Party
Irish Republican Socialist Party
The Irish Republican Socialist Party or IRSP is a republican socialist party active in Ireland. It claims the legacy of socialist revolutionary James Connolly, who founded the Irish Socialist Republican Party in 1896 and was executed after the Easter Rising of 1916.- History :The Irish Republican...
. She was elected in 1981 as a councillor to the Shannon Town Commission.
She was re-elected as an Independent after leaving the IRSP. She was later elected to Clare County Council in 1991. Makowski campaigned against the building of the visitor centre in Mullaghmore, in the Burren
The Burren
The Burren is a karst-landscape region or alvar in northwest County Clare, in Ireland. It is one of the largest karst landscapes in Europe. The region measures approximately 250 square kilometres and is enclosed roughly within the circle made by the villages Ballyvaughan, Kinvara, Tubber, Corofin,...
. She later became a county councillor and for a while was considered a possible future TD for Clare. She retired from political life in 1999.