In the extended family in the US, especially among the many daughters that Mary Jane and Jeremiah had, she was known and revered.

But besides Clonakilty and perhaps West Cork, I found that her story was largely unknown.

When I made Rebel Rossa about Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa in 2016 I learned a lot about his story but also a great deal about Mary Jane.

Her story couldn't fit in that film but I made a promise then that I would make a film that featured her story. 

While Rebel Rossa was partly grounded in the Centenary it had to be made quickly (and it was made very fast for an independent documentary), it took a lot longer to make Rebel Wife. 

This was partially because of the constant problem with funding but also because I was making a story about a figure from (mostly) the 19th Century and there was not a lot of visual material to work with. 

But I also think this was exacerbated by the fact she was a woman and, therefore, even less was available as she worked in the background and was not in the papers, etc. as much as Jeremiah. 

I think she was as much a nationalist as her husband, She didn't spend time in prison or wasn't as much of a public figure but her tenacity and long-range strategy was formidable. 

For example, even though Jeremiah had fallen out with John Devoy as they both agitated for Irish freedom from the US, she kept in constant contact with Devoy. 

When Jeremiah was at a low, drinking, unpredictable and somewhat unstable in NYC, she communicated with Devoy that he wasn't at his best and his behaviour could damage strategy. 

The fact that she travelled all around the US in her early 20s to read poetry, talk about Irish freedom and the political prisoners (including her husband) and raise money for the families was incredible. 

When I was growing up, we knew some elements of their lives but before making the films it was really the basics - Jeremiah was in English prisons and then his funeral in 1915 was huge and featured the famous Pearse speech ‘the fools, the fools, the fools’. 

We definitely didn't know about the ‘dynamite campaign’, his assassination attempt in NYC and the level to which he was in the papers throughout the US in the last decades of the 19th century. 

He was a very high-profile and colourful character when they were together in NYC and they struggled financially a great deal.

The stories of them that I learned would make a great TV series - full of British spies, bluster, shootings, chaos, splits, the deaths of children and a longing for Irish freedom. 

Audiences at Fastnet Film Festival and at the screening of Rebel Wife in May 2024 seemed incredibly moved and proud by Mary Jane’s story.

I'm so happy that I finished the film and it has been embraced by people in her home area and around the country. 

Throughout our lives, we have been visiting West Cork and it's a special place for us.

When my brother and I were teens our father would take us around the area and especially places like Skibbereen where the statue of Jeremiah is.

Knowing more details now, it has been amazing to spend time in more specific places like Rosscarbery (where the O'Donovan family gravesite is) and understand both the horror of what the famine brought but also the places where Jeremiah would organize (like Union Hall). 

But while there were plenty of places where Jeremiah was memorialised as far as I remember there was only a plaque on the Strand House in Clonakilty for Mary Jane. 

Statues and monuments are vitally important for memory and for fixing history in a place where people can visit and spark interest with future generations.

Clon is a wonderful place and Mary Jane was not only born and grew up there but had connections there throughout her life as her sisters and family were there. 

Mary Jane is an important and largely unrecognised figure in the fight for Irish freedom and she kept that fight going throughout her life.

I would hope that a spot could be picked that is somewhat central in the town, I know there was tentatively a spot near Rossa Street and that would be good and, having visited many times, places like Emmet Square are wonderful but maybe consider outside De Barra's, one of my favourite places in Ireland!  

The statue of my great grandmother would represent an acknowledgement of the role of women in the long fight for Irish freedom, and especially women that struggled with constrictions that were embedded in society at that time. 

I have no doubt that there were many other women who deserve recognition as well but it just so happens that Mary Jane's great grandson is a documentary filmmaker who was moved to get her story recognized and hopefully also for future generations. 

Clon is proud of the fight for Irish freedom (just look at the names of many streets) and places like the Michael Collins House are great resources for learning about the struggle. Mary Jane is featured there as well as in the West Cork Regional History Museum. 

A statue would (literally) cement her name into the history of the town and the Republic and hopefully inspire other stories and a continued understanding of the role of women, and the role of West Cork, in the establishment of the Irish Republic.