Named after revolutionary, activist, suffragette and minister for Labour, Countess Markievicz, a new bursary to support female artists was announced on Wednesday that will see a total of €100,000 awarded to women working in any genre.

Five artists will be awarded up to  €20,000 annually through the scheme which will run in conjunction with the Arts Council.

The announcement was made by Minister for Culture Josepha Madigan on Wednesday, the day which marked the 100th anniversary of the enactment of legislation to allow women to stand for election in Ireland.

“I am pleased to announce a new scheme that both honours Countess Constance de Markievicz – herself an artist – and provides support for female artists from all backgrounds and genres,” Ms Madigan said.

“These bursaries are to serve as a reminder that we have a way to travel on the road to full equality in Irish political life. That is why the scheme is deliberately perennial. It is not time limited, but will remain active through this century and into the next, assisting hundreds of women of different creative endeavour in the process."

Before her involvement in the revolution, Countess Markievicz trained as an artist gaining a reputation as a landscape painter,  playing an instrumental role in establishing the United Artists Club with fellow artists John Butler Yeats and Sarah Purser among others. She donated the last of her wealth before she died in 1957 at the age of 59.

The bursaries will open for applications in January-February to be awarded in May 2019. They will be open to individuals and groups with one reserved exclusively for artists working in the Irish language.