Women and Ireland
Women and Irish Society
A Sociological Reader
Edited by Anne Byrne and Madeleine Leonard
Published by Beyond the Pale Publications
Price £16.99
This book is a fascinating journey through many aspects
of women's lives in Ireland.
The 33 essays grouped under headings such as Women and
Education, Work, The Welfare System, Violence, Power
and Politics, and Hidden Lives bring together a vast
wealth of knowledge and experience.
The book's introduction clearly states where it's
coming from: ``Feminist social science research is
research for the emancipation of women rather than
merely research on women. The research within this
volume is inspired by the women's movement and
constructed from feminist perpectives. In exposing
social, economic and political inequalities, it
promotes the liberation and emancipation of women.''
What comes through in every essay is the basic tenet
that what women define as political, the state will
invarably ignore by saying that they are private and
moral issues, whilst at the same time legislating to
ensure that policies do affect women in the way in
which a male dominated state wants them to.
In their essay Breda Grey and Louise Ryan explore woman
as a symbol of a nation, the manner in which this has
been done in Ireland and how it has had a negative
impact on real women and their lives.
Gray and Ryan highlight how Cathleen Ni Houlihan
represented a sexualised image of Irish womanhood while
the Sean Bhan Bhocht was a ``more sanitised,
de-sexualised representation of Irish women''. In the
1920s with the establishment of the Free State the
government went out of its way to ensure that the image
of the new state and the purity of Irishness was
represented by the symbol of the purity of the Irish
woman. In one fell swoop the church, state and media
colluded to render real women invisible and irrelevant
and created a system of discrimination which survives
to this day.
Gray and Ryan also point out that in addition to the
virgin/whore image there was a third symbol; the
``furies'' who challenged the status quo and were seen as
a threat to the state. These furies were the women of
the republician movement and the authors include a
hilarous quote from a Rev Dr Dooley when he gave a
confirmation sermon in 1925: ``If I had a little girl
friend who took up politics I would give up praying for
her. Women who go around taking despatches and arms
from one place to another are furies. Who would respect
them, or who would marry them? Never join a Cumann Na
mBan or a Cumann na Saoirse or anything else. Do your
work as your grandmother did before you''.
The essay ends on a rather depressing note. It shows
how these same images of women as either a victim or a
threat to the ``nation'' still permeate all walks of life
today.
The group of essays covering women in education,
employment and the welfare state show how despite
changes in legislation women are still discriminated
against in the education system, employment and in
gaining access to the benefits to which they should be
entitled. While the new trend now is to welcome work in
`back offices' and home working for women, Wendy
Richards in her essay ``Behind Closed Doors: Homeworkers
in Ireland'' explores how this situation works in favour
of employers and against women employees. Women in this
sector are marginalised, low paid and an invisible work
force who are often deprived of the normal entitlements
for employees.
By Una Gillespie
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