[4] On 7 April 1926, Gibson shot Mussolini, the Prime Minister of Italy and leader of the National Fascist Party, as he walked among the crowd in the Piazza del Campidoglio in Rome after leaving an assembly of the International Congress of Surgeons, to whom he had delivered a speech on the wonders of modern medicine.

Mussolini was wounded only slightly, dismissing his injury as "a mere trifle", and after his nose was bandaged he continued his parade on the Capitoline Hill.

[6] As she did not hold Irish citizenship due to her Unionist views,[citation needed] she was deported to Britain after being released without charge at the request of Mussolini, an act for which he received the thanks of the British government.

[10][9] The assassination attempt triggered a wave of popular support for Mussolini, resulting in the passage of pro-Fascist legislation which helped consolidate his control of Italy.

[14] A film drama-documentary, Violet Gibson, The Irish Woman Who Shot Mussolini (2020) starring Olwen Fouéré, was commissioned by TG4 and produced by Barrie Dowdall and Siobhán Lynam.

This production offers a rare opportunity to delve into the psyche of a suppressed Victorian woman who defied societal norms and challenged the political establishment of her time.

In March 2021 Dublin City Council approved the placement of a plaque on her childhood home in Merrion Square to commemorate Gibson as "a committed anti-fascist".