Irish in Resistance During World War II – One-Day-only Pop-Up Installation with artists Mary Moynihan, Féilim James, Hina Khan, Amna Walayat, Jessica Rodrigues and Noah Sex
Irish in Resistance During World War II – One-Day-only Pop-Up Installation with artists Mary Moynihan, Féilim James, Hina Khan, Amna Walayat, Jessica Rodrigues and Noah Sex
October 14 @ 10:00 am – 9:00 pm IST
The Irish in Resistance During World War II pop-up installation features 12 storyboard artworks by Mary Moynihan, each telling the story of an Irish person who resisted fascism and totalitarianism and stood up for the rights and dignity of others during WWII.
The storyboards are accompanied by original artworks by Hina Khan, Amna Walayat, Jessica Rodrigues, Noah Sex and Mary Moynihan, responding creatively to the stories and themes of courage, resistance, compassion, and human rights. Original poems by novelist, poet and playwright Féilim James are also on display.
Book Your Place
Admission free, no booking required
Artists
Artists in Installation:
- Mary Moynihan, Writer, Poet, Creator of Art and Photography, Artistic Director, Smashing Times International Centre for the Arts and Equality, Arts Curator for the annual International Irish Arts and Human Rights festival. Mary is a Curator and Artist on the Irish in Resistance during World War II Installation
- Amna Walayat, Visual Artist
- Hina Khan, Visual Artist
- Féilim James, Poet and Writer
- Jessica Rodrigues, Multidisciplinaryl Artist
Noah Sex, Visual Artist
Producer: Freda Manweiler, Company Manager and Producer, Smashing Times International Centre for the Arts and Equality
Producer: Ciara Hayes, Producer, Smashing Times International Centre for the Arts and Equality
Guest Speakers for In Conversation Event 14 October, 7-9pm: Clodagh Finn, Journalist and Award-Winning Author; John Morgan, Author; Mary Moynihan, Writer, Poet, Creator of Art and Photography
MC for In Conversation Event: Ciara Hayes, Producer, Smashing Times International Centre for the Arts and Equality
Full Event Details
Irish in Resistance during World War II is an ongoing project by Smashing Times that remembers and shares the stories of Irish people who resisted fascism and totalitarianism during the Holocaust and World War II, and who courageously spoke out for the rights and dignity of others. Smashing Times has a deep passion for remembering, telling and sharing these important stories of courage, resistance and human rights. Through multidisciplinary artistic practice, the project brings these often lesser-known histories to life and invites audiences to reflect on the importance of standing up against injustice.
As part of the 2026 Irish Arts and Human Rights Festival, Smashing Times presents the Irish in Resistance During World War II Multidisciplinary Installation as a special one-day-only pop-up exhibition on Wednesday 14 October, 10am–9pm. The installation is accompanied by a unique ‘In Conversation’ event on Wednesday 14 October, 7–9pm, offering audiences the opportunity to hear individual stories of Irish people who stood up for the rights of others during World War II. Join us for storytelling, poetry and conversation with Ciara Hayes, who interviews Clodagh Finn and Mary Moynihan, exploring stories of Irish resistance to fascism and persecution. Hear the storiesof Mary Elmes, Katherine “Kate” McCarthy and Samuel Beckett, and discover their acts of courage, humanity and resistance during war and persecution. Followed by a Q&A, the conversation reflects on solidarity, kindness, human rights and the continuing relevance of these stories today. Both events take place at the Smashing Times Visual Art Gallery, 30 Sandycove Road, Dublin A39V9P1.
Irish in Resistance During World War II Installation
Irish in Resistance During World War II is a multidisciplinary installation featuring visual art, photography, film, poetry and storytelling, reflecting on the stories of Irish people who resisted fascism and totalitarianism during the Holocaust and World War II and spoke out for the rights of others.
In the current climate of war in Ukraine, Gaza and in countries and regions across the world, Smashing Times looks to the history of World War II to share stories of ordinary people who did extraordinary things to stand up against oppression and fascism. The installation focuses on individual stories of courage, resistance, compassion and resilience, highlighting the choices people made when faced with injustice, persecution and totalitarianism.
The exhibition explores a diversity of stories of peaceful and active resistance by ordinary Irish people who stood up against fascism and totalitarianism. Time and again, acts of kindness, courage and resilience were carried out by ordinary people, both within Nazi concentration camps and in wider society during World War II. These stories demonstrate how Irish people risked their lives for complete strangers, holding on to their humanity and showing a determination to create a future in which all people are treated equally and where democracy, equality and peace prevail.
Members of the public, schools, youth and community groups are invited to experience the installation and attend the ‘In Conversation‘ event, bringing people together to explore the power of solidarity, kindness and the values of equality, human rights, diversity, democracy, peace and gender equality, and their relevance to our world today.
The pop-up installation features 12 storyboard artworks created by Mary Moynihan. Each features a story, headshot and photographic artwork inspired by Irish and European landscapes, showcasing the stories of twelve Irish people active during World War II. A series of original artworks were created in response to the stories on display, created by Hina Khan, visual artist; Amna Walayat, visual artist; Féilim James, writer and poet; Mary Moynihan, writer, poet and creator of art and photography; Jessica Rodrigues, Visual Artist and Noah Sex, visual artist. The exhibition is curated by Mary Moynihan, and was originally funded through The Arts Council Commissions Award under visual art, literature, and festivals, and presented as part of the Smashing Times Artist Development Programme.
In this exhibition we are shining a light on twelve stories of Irish people in Resistance during World War II. They are:
Margaret Kearney Taylor (1890 -1982) was born in the United Kingdom to an Irish family. She lived in Paris and later moved to Madrid where she was involved in sheltering people who had fled France during WW2 including Jewish people.
Samuel Beckett (1906-1969) was a renowned Irish playwright and novelist, who played a lesser-known role in the French Resistance during World War II, for which he was later awarded the Croix de Guerre and the Médaille de la Résistance.
Janie McCarthy (1885-1964) from Killarney, Ireland lived in Paris during World War II and became involved in the French Resistance. She managed to evade capture and survived the war.
Catherine Crean (1879–1945) was an Irish governess involved in the Belgian Resistance during World War II, who died in Ravensbrück concentration camp on 3 April, 1945, less than four weeks before its liberation.
Katherine (Kate) Anne Mc Carthy (1895-1971), also known as Sr Marie-Laurence, was a Cork woman who joined the Franciscan Religious order in France and later became a member of the Musée de L’Homme Resistance group in Northern France during WWII, assisting over 120 Allied servicemen to escape from Nazi-occupied France.
Robert Armstrong (1894-1944) was a gardener who joined the French Resistance working to assist downed Allied airmen to escape capture from occupied Europe. He was captured and died in the Waldheim prison in Saxony for political prisoners on 16 December, 1944.
Mary Elmes (1908-2002)from Cork, was the first Irish person honoured as ‘Righteous Among Nations’ for her work saving Jewish children from the Nazi gas chambers during World War II.
Margaret Kelly (1910-2004) was a dancer from Ireland and the founder and impresario of the world-famous Bluebell Girls Dancing Troup. During WWII Margaret regularly risked her own life to save her husband and business partner Marcel Leibovici whom she married in 1939 and whom she hid from the Nazis as he was half Jewish.
Anna ‘Jeannie’ Duchene (née Hodges) (1869-unknown), an Irish woman from Waterford who moved to Brussels in Belgium and who paid a huge sacrifice in World War II through the loss of her two children, a daughter Florence (Florrie) Duchene (1906-1945) who died in Bergen-Belson concentration camp in April 1945 and a son Leopold who was released from a Nazi prison at the end of the war and died soon after.
Maureen Patricia O’Sullivan (1918-1994) was a Dublin-born member of the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) and the Fireman Resistance Network in France during WWII.
Mary Herbert (1903-1983) was born in Ireland and later went to the University of London. In England she joined the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) in 1941 and the Special Operations Unit (SOE) in 1942 and was sent into France to work with the French resistance during WWII.
Mary Cummins (1905-1999) was a Dublin woman originally from Drumcondra. She had a talent for languages and found herself working in Brussels during World War II when Belgium was invaded by the Nazis. She joined the Belgium resistance and worked translating messages and as a courier smuggling messages and arms[1].
Origins and Artistic Processes: Hope, Courage and Resilience
In 2024, Smashing Times International Centre for the Arts and Equality received funding through The Arts Council Commissions Award under Visual Arts, Literature and Festivals to develop Irish in Resistance During World War II, curated by Mary Moynihan. The exhibition was created as part of the Smashing Times Artist Development Programme, bringing together artists Mary Moynihan, Féilim James, Hina Khan and Amna Walayat to respond creatively to stories of Irish people who resisted fascism and totalitarianism, promoted democracy and peace, and stood up for the rights of others during World War II.
As part of the research and artistic development process, Mary Moynihan researched 12 individual stories of Irish people in resistance during World War II. These stories became the foundation for the artists’ creative responses and were presented as storyboard artworks (12 storyboard artworks created by Mary Moynihan) alongside new visual art, photography, poetry and film (created by artists Hina Khan, Amna Walayat, Féilim James and Mary Moynihan). The artists worked collaboratively and in dialogue with one another, creating an integrated body of work exploring equality, human rights, diversity, democracy and peace.
The exhibition explores themes of resistance, courage, oppression, freedom, hope and resilience, highlighting the different ways people responded to fascism and totalitarianism. The stories encompass violent and non-violent resistance, acts of solidarity and courage, and the powerful decision to continue to show compassion, dignity and kindness in the face of extreme circumstances. They reveal how ordinary people could take extraordinary action, sometimes risking their lives to protect complete strangers and uphold the rights and humanity of others.
At the heart of the artistic process is a reflection on the nature ofnon-violent resistance when faced with a military and political force such as Nazi Germany. Through the individual stories, the artists explore the choices people made in times of oppression and consider what these histories can tell us about courage, humanity and resistance today.
Curator and artist Mary Moynihan has a particular focus on historical memory within her artistic practice, using history as a source of inspiration for original artworks that bring attention to the lives of ordinary people in extraordinary times who stood up for the rights of others. Her work explores the Holocaust, World War II and the revolutionary period in Irish history from 1916 to 1923, connecting historical memory with contemporary questions of equality, human rights and social justice.
The resulting exhibition was presented at The Ireland Institute, 27 Pearse Street, Dublin 2, from 11–31 October 2024, as a flagship event of the sixth annual Dublin International Arts and Human Rights Festival. A selection of the exhibition was also presented digitally through the Smashing Times Virtual Arts Gallery, extending access to audiences unable to attend in person and showcasing the artists’ work internationally. In 2025, the Irish in Resistance during World War II exhibition was presented for the eight annual international Irish Arts and Human Rights festival at the Smashing Times Visual Art Gallery, 30 Sandycove Road, Sandycove, Dublin, A39V9P1, from Friday 10 October to Sunday 30 November 2025, Wednesday to Sunday 1-6pm daily. An evening. The exhibition was accompanied by an event titled Irish in Resistance During World War II – Storytelling, Poetry and Chat which took place at theSmashing Times International Centre for the Arts and Equality, 30 Sandycove Road, Sandycove, Dublin, A39V9P1, on 17 October, 4-5.30pm.
What Did We Do During World War II
Ireland was officially neutral during World War II—a period known as The Emergency. There were Irish citizens however who were active during World War II standing up against fascism. There are numerous stories of Irish citizens who peacefully resisted Nazi occupation by joining escape lines. Others joined established resistance movements becoming a part of for example The French Resistance (La Résistance). There is the story of famous Irish writer Samuel Beckett who joined the Gloria SMH intelligence network in France and the story of Sister Katherine ‘Kate’ McCarthy, an Irish nun who operated within a French escape line to save Allied airmen and others escape from Nazi occupied Germany. There is the story of Irish man Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty who was nicknamed the ‘Scarlet Pimpernel of the Vatican’, as he organised with others the Rome Escape line in German-occupied Italy, an underground network that hid and smuggled out over 6,500 Allied soldiers and Jewish refugees.
Domestic Defence at Home: Within Ireland the Irish government set up the Local Security Force (LSF) and the Local Defence Force (LDF) to resist an invasion of Ireland during the war. This took the form of part-time civilian volunteer groupswho would act as a force of domestic resistance against an invasion of Ireland whether by German or British forces.
The Allied ‘Forgotten’ Volunteers: Over 70,000 citizens from neutral Ireland voluntarily enlisted in the British Armed Forces to fight the Axis powers, alongside roughly 50,000 from Northern Ireland. Nearly 5,000 of these volunteers were active-duty members of the Irish Defence Forces who deserted their home posts to go fight the Nazis. In Ireland, they were formally placed on a harsh blacklist known as the Emergency Powers (No. 362) Order. They were referred to as the ‘Starvation Order’ men.
[1] Doughty Survivor of a Nazi death decree, 3 July 1991, Irish Times https://www.irishtimes.com/news/doughty-survivor-of-a-nazi-death-decree-1.202637
Organisations Involved / Partner Organisation(s):
