Old Ireland Was No Country For Women

Some poor Irish women of the past suffered much so we could own property, vote, earn a living and live the life we want. Thank-you brave ladies. We still have not got pay and promotion equality or even even representation in government or in the legal system. It is mostly men who dominate the big jobs in Ireland but we have come a long way. My eyes were opened by the two part series on RTE called No Country For Women. Watch and weep people at some of the terrible injustices of the past. Women committed to asylums or sent to launderies to work long days for no pay. Their names were changed. They were not allowed talk to one another and lived in cold conditions, with no healthcare and were fed very little. It was a tough regime forced upon theses women by the nuns and supported by the state. The unmarried mothers had their babies taken from them against their will and given up for adoption. What cruel things were done in the name of religion. These women were called ‘fallen women’ and if they ran away the gardai brought them back to the nuns. There was no escape from their cruel life. It is not that long ago that they were closed down – scary!! It is a good thing church and state were divorced in Ireland. In recent years we have voted for contraception, divorce, abortion and we have a good welfare system. Modern Ireland has learned from it’s past. The story needs to be told so we may never repeat these horrors.

See the TV series online now at:

No Country for Women is a new landmark television two part documentary series on RTÉ One which explores Irish women’s lives since achieving the vote 100 years ago. In the 100th anniversary year of women’s suffrage, these documentaries travel through time, seeking historical answers in the journeys of a number of Irish women today.

https://www.rte.ie/player/ie/show/no-country-for-women-30005310/10895243/

and

Landmark television documentary exploring Irish women’s lives since achieving the vote 100 years ago. In this part, women’s quest for social and economic freedom.

https://www.rte.ie/player/ie/show/no-country-for-women-30005310/10895698/