Whether we take this image as a sign of love or a sign of a woman's strength, I cannot say clearly. However, it is fair to call this a photo that brought tears to the eyes of millions of people around the world.

The photo shows a very beautiful young woman shooting with a gun. To a bystander it is, but to Ireland, it is a portrait of their rosy self. They still use it today as an example of a woman's love and strength.

Here is the background story of the photo. During fighting between Northern Ireland and Britain, the boyfriend of the girl in this photo, an Irish IRA soldier, is wounded by British gunfire. At the same time, this girl takes his gun and starts shooting non-stop at the British army to protect her boyfriend. Meanwhile, the Irish military takes her lover for treatment, but the young woman is killed by a British shot during the battle with the British. It is said that the British army not only stopped the exchange of fire when they found out that it was a young woman who had been fighting with them until now but also handed over their bodies to the Irish army after knowing the reason for the fight. However, a British soldier made a very important statement after this incident. That is 'she fought for her love, for the country but we are fighting for a queen we have never seen'. However, after this incident, the story says that she became the rose of Ireland.

Along with this story, this image was chosen for Women's Day.

The author stated in an interview with RTÉ Brainstorm that he "didn't stage it". The photo shows a woman with long hair wearing a polka-dot dress and carrying an assault rifle.

"I submitted that photograph to the Irish press," Doyle once declared. "But the editors refused to print it in the paper. They considered it inappropriate to print a photograph showing a woman with a gun". One version was eventually printed in Coleman's 2004 book "All Changed: 50 of Photographing Ireland" on page 81 with the caption "An IRA woman on active duty in west Belfast with an AR18 assault rifle":

These shots, showing women as active volunteers of the Provisional IRA taking part in the fighting, emerged at a crucial moment. Three Belfast women, among them Dollars and Marian Price, had recently joined the Provisional IRA. Cumann na mBan, a republican women's organization founded in 1914, disagreed with the recruitment of women into the IRA. Some women, however, saw their place firmly within the IRA rather than a women-only auxiliary force.

As such, these images helped to attract women to the Provisional IRA by portraying them as combatants equal to men, something they were ultimately not allowed to do. Cumann na mBan responded with their campaign. The organization's former adjutant-general describes how yellow posters with the phrase "Cumann na mBan: Join the Women's Army" was produced.

However, there are many criticisms behind this story.

Just half a century ago, sectarian conflict broke out in Northern Ireland, leading to the creation of the Provisional IRA, a newly dominant faction of the Irish Republican Army. What became known as "The Troubles" began in the late 1960s and lasted nearly 30 years, during which the British Army engaged in fierce battles with paramilitary groups across Northern Ireland.

Conversations with historians and photographers reveal different stories behind the picture. Snopes was unable to determine why the photo circulated online in late 2019 and spring 2020. But what is clear is that the story of the woman grabbing her boyfriend's gun is a fabrication.

The photo can even be found on merchandise. Refinish, who spent 15 years researching republicanism in Ireland, saw it on postcards, T-shirts, and coffee mugs. Although each other has different ideologies about her story, many people still want to accept her love story as true.