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Cover of Dublin Opinion June 1937

The referendum on 8 March 2024, proposing to delete Article 41.2 of the Irish constitution which refers to women’s ‘life within the home’ and her domestic role ‘without which the common good cannot be achieved’, prompted us to reflect on reactions to the article in 1937 and the relationship between women, home and work in 20th century Ireland.

Dr Fionnuala Walsh and Dr Mary McAuliffe

Organisers of roundtable

Women and the Irish Constitution: a roundtable discussion

‘Women and the Irish Constitution: a roundtable discussion’ took place on 13 February 2024 in UCD Humanities Institute.

This UCD gender history seminar was organised by Dr Fionnuala Walsh (UCD History) and Dr Mary McAuliffe (UCD Gender Studies). On their reasons for organising the event, they commented:

The referendum on 8 March 2024, proposing to delete Article 41.2 of the Irish constitution which refers to women’s ‘life within the home’ and her domestic role ‘without which the common good cannot be achieved’, prompted us to reflect on reactions to the article in 1937 and the relationship between women, home and work in 20th century Ireland.

This roundtable brought together leading historians, a poet and the chair of the National Women’s Council to discuss the past and present of these issues. You can now listen back to a podcast of the roundtable.

The roundtable panel included contributions from: Dr Mary McAuliffe (UCD, chair); Prof. Caitriona Beaumont (London South Bank University); Associate Professor Jennifer Redmond (Maynooth University); Orla O’Connor (National Women’s Council); Prof. Lindsey Earner Byrne (Trinity College Dublin); and the Sutherland School of Law Poet in Residence, Julie Morrissy.

Podcast – how to listen

The podcast of the roundtable is available below and on History Hub’s podcast series on Apple, Soundcloud and Spotify. You can subscribe to the series and receive the latest episodes in the series on any of these platforms.

The organisers would like to thank the funders of this event: the UCD College of Arts and Humanities EDI Committee, UCD History and the UCD Decade of Centenaries Seed Funding Scheme.

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