... was born in London in 1868. Her father was Sir Henry Gore–Booth, 5th Baronet, an enlightened landlord who administered an estate in County Sligo. Sir Henry was also an Arctic explorer, and a close friend of W. B. Yeats – who became a big influence on Constance and her sister Eva.
Constance wished to become a painter, but no art school in Ireland at the time admitted female students. She enrolled at the Slade School of Art in London, and later went to study in Paris; there she met Casimir Markievicz, a Ukrainian artist from a Polish family. He used the title Count Markiewicz, although there is some doubt about its authenticity. He was married but separated, but his wife died in 1899 and he married Constance Gore–Booth the following year.
They settled in Dublin, and Constance became involved in Irish nationalist politics in 1908. In 1913 the Count returned to Ukraine; the couple remained in contact, but he never returned to the British Isles. It was also in 1913 that Constance joined the Irish Citizens' Army, and she took part in the Easter Rising of 1916. She was sentenced to death for taking part in an armed rebellion, but this was commuted on account of her gender. She was imprisoned in England, but released in 1917 along with other participants in the Rising.
In 1918 she stood as a Sinn Fein candidate in the Dublin St. Patrick's constituency, and was elected with 66% of the votes cast. Along with the other 72 Sinn Fein MPs elected at the same time, she did not take her seat in the House of Commons.
She continued to be involved in Irish nationalist politics, and in 1926 she joined the new Fianna Fáil party. She died in 1927 from complications related to appendicitis, having given away the last of her wealth.
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