The Women's Podcast

Four years ago this week, we called an Emergency Episode of this podcast to lament and analyse the ascent of racist, sexist Donald Trump to The White House. Four years later we assemble again in a slightly more hopeful mood against a backdrop of Biden possibly emerging victorious. We can't forget though that nearly 70 million voters choosing Trump again, despite or perhaps because of, his four year reign which has included white supremacist allegiances, children in cages, lies, sexism, narcissism, meltdowns and more lies. Joining our host Kathy Sheridan for this invigorating conversation which included an exploration of 'tenacious optimism' and 'fuck you feminism' was feminist giant Mona Eltahawy, human rights lawyer Simone George and Irish Times Washington Correspondent Suzanne Lynch. Cheerful is not an option, says Mona. Righteous anger and activism are what we need to dismantle the patriarchal structures that are still alive and well whether, when all the votes are finally counted, Biden/Harris or Trump/Pence take The White House. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today's episode, Kathy Sheridan talks to broadcaster Aine Lawlor as she marks the move from anchoring RTE Radio 1's News At One to a gig she has to set the alarm much earlier for as one of the co-presenters of the flagship programme Morning Ireland. She talked to Sheridan about her long career, her passion for current affairs, her thoughts on the US Election and the importance of speaking so openly about her cancer diagnosis in 2011. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today’s episode, Róisín Ingle is joined by Doireann Ni Ghriofa, a talented poet and the author of an original, evocative and lyrical book called A Ghost In the Throat. This stunning debut is an exploration into Caoineadh Airt Uí Laoghaire, one of the greatest love poems of the Irish language, written by Eibhlín Dubh Ní Chonaill. A fluid hybrid of essay and autofiction, Ni Ghríofa weaves in her own lived experience as she sets herself the huge task of writing a new translation of the 18th century poem. It’s a visceral read, dripping with breast milk, full of the mundanity and the glory of motherhood. She spoke about the poem's powerful resonance and her lifelong obsession with finding out the rest of the story. Also, a reminder that tickets are still available for our Big Fright In this Halloween night with British writer and journalist Caitlin Moran joining us as our special guest. Tickets available on irishtimes.com/big-night-in Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Kathy Sheridan talks to little person Sinéad Burke about her extraordinary activism and her new stigma-busting book Break the Mould. You'll know Burke from such accolades as appearing on the cover of Vogue (Meghan Markle chose her for the gig) and her TED talk 'Why design should include everyone'. She is a writer, academic, influencer, activist and broadcaster who has been fearless in her mission to make the world a more inclusive and accessible place. A tireless campaigner and passionate fashionista, Burke spoke to Sheridan about how she broke the mould and explained why standing out and being yourself is a message people of all ages need to hear. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today’s episode Roisin Ingle meets Galway based Erin Darcy the author of a new book called In Her Shoes which tells the stories of women left behind by the Eighth Amendment. In early 2018 Darcy created an online art project, In Her Shoes Women of the 8th to safely and anonymously share private stories of the real and devastating impact of the 8th amendment. In the five months leading up the referendum on abortion, the project had a simple request for undecided voters: put yourself in her shoes. Within weeks there were hundreds of stories pouring in and what began as a solo act of grassroots activism unleashed a national conversation on human rights that would help change Ireland forever. She spoke about coming to Ireland as a teenager from America after falling in love with an Irish man she met on an online message board. In a wide ranging interview, we hear about her activism, her art and about the power of storytelling. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For years now, campaigners and activists have been calling on the government to prevent records compiled by the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes from being sealed for 30 years. Proposed legislation related to the commission’s records, the Records Bill, was brought forward by Minister for Children Roderic O’Gorman and the debate continues this week in Dail. Organisations such as the Clann Project, Justice for Magdalenes and the Adoption Rights Alliance are all against the records being sealed. They say it will result in people being unable to access information “disappeared" relatives or babies "buried in unmarked graves." In today's episode we asked human rights lawyer Maeve O’Rourke to talk to us about the issues and about her long battle together with with the Clann Project to ensure that women survivors of human rights abuses in Ireland get access to their personal information. Also with us was Mary Harney, a woman now in her seventies who was born in Bessborough Mother and Baby Home in Cork. Mary told us her life story and explained the devastating repercussions of being denied access to information about her identity. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The 15th of October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. Each year, to mark the day, a global wave of light is created through the lighting of candles by parents who have lost a baby through miscarriage, stillbirth or in infancy. It is estimated that one in four pregnancies ends this way and yet there is still a silence and taboo that surrounds the subject. In this episode, Irish Times parenting columnist and author Jen Hogan speaks to Róisín Ingle about her personal experience of miscarriage and the devastation of each loss. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You’ve probably heard of the 400 Welcomes campaign, an all-female campaign group, made up of doctors, teachers, writers, community and social care workers and musicians . One of the women behind the campaign is Caoimhe Butterly, a human rights campaigner who has been fighting for justice all over the world for most of her adult life. Originally from Dublin, she was inspired by her parents to look outside her own comfortable circumstances and fight for the most vulnerable. Following a recent fire in Moria refugee camp in Lesvos, Greece, over 13,000 people now face the bleakest conditions which are getting worse by the day. Those in the new camp face inadequate access to food, water and weather-proofed shelters. #400Welcomes is calling on the Irish government to bring 400 people from Lesvos to Ireland with relocation outside of the system of Direct Provision. The Government originally said they would only take in four unaccompanied minors, now it says they will take fifty men, women and children. We spoke to Butterly about her interesting family background, her motivation, her hopes for the campaign and the ways her fight for justice has changed since she became a mother. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Who knows when we'll get to lose ourselves in the darkness of a cinema again? But when we do all of us at The Women's Podcast are urging you to go and see a wonderful Irish film called Herself which tells the story of a brutalised single mother Sandra and her dream to build her own house where she and her two small daughters can be safe. The story of the film was written by Dubliner Clare Dunne who also stars, and was inspired by a real-life friend of Clare's who was forced to declare herself homeless and live in a hotel in order to get on the housing list. It tells the story of how women in this situation. women fleeing terrifying home situations of domestic abuse, are treated by society and the legal system. But at the heart, it's a hopeful, uplifting film directed by Phyllida Lloyd (Mamma Mia!) about how one woman took matters into her own hands despite all the obstacles. Already critically acclaimed, Herself - a co-prodcution between Sharon Horgan's company Merman and Element Pictures - is moving, funny and at times painful to watch. Clare Dunne joined us on the episode to talk about a movie that was a real labour of love.Also, a reminder that tickets are still available for our Big Night In Season 2. Tickets available on irishtimes.com/big-night-in Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.