Ep 438 Majella Moynihan - A Guarded Life

In 1984, Majella Moynihan was a fresh faced young garda recruit when she gave birth to a baby boy. Charged with breaching An Garda Siochana disciplinary rules - for having premarital sex with another guard and for becoming pregnant and having a child while unmarried - she was pressured to give up her baby for adoption or face dismissal. It forced her into a decision that would have devastating impacts on her life. Moynihan left the Guards in 1998 and in 2019, following an RTE documentary on her case, she received an apology from the Garda Commissioner and Minister for Justice for the ordeal she endured as a young garda. She spoke to Roisin Ingle about her memoir A Guarded Life and the reality of a police culture steeped in misogyny and prejudice. Majella Moynihan is a hero, whose courage and resilience led to her speaking out against an institution that traumatised and bullied her for years, for the "crime" of being a pregnant, unmarried woman in Ireland.Also, a reminder that tickets are still available for our Big Night In Season 2. Our next guest is Glamour editor-in-chief Samantha Barry. Tickets available on irishtimes.com/big-night-in

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