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St Patrick and the Patriarchy: Women’s rights in Ireland

We Are History

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The Rise and Fall of Catholic Hegemony in Ireland

In the mid-80s, public opinion was firmly against letting other people get out of their marriages. Such was the power of the messages coming from the pulpits of the 26 counties. Mary Robinson had introduced an amendment to a Criminal Law Amendment Act permitting the sale and supply and distribution of contraception in Ireland. The reaction against her was hate-filled and deeply personal. She received hate mail, she was despised and abused by strangers. But then, nearly two decades on, she was to take on the Irish establishment again in a much bolder move,. And in 1990, Mary Robinson decided to run for president.

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