Irish Ideas Road to Repeal How Did the Repeal the Eighth Campaign Shape Ireland?
On 25 May 2018, the Eighth Amendment was removed from the Irish Constitution, the culmination of five decades of unrelenting commitment and protest by activists and groups in Ireland and overseas. It was a moment of victory, certainly, but the road to get there had been desperately challenging for the women, girls and men who had contested the repression of women’s rights.
As part of the WE Irish Festival, we’re hosting a special Irish Ideas event to look back over the formative decades of campaigning and activism, and how this made history in Ireland. At the centre of our discussion is Road to Repeal: 50 Years of Struggle in Ireland for Contraception and Abortion, a book of stories and photography that shine a light on the journey of thousands of women and girls who braved stigma and hardship, often travelling alone and anonymously for medical treatment they were denied in Ireland.
The story takes us from 1970, when the Irish Women’s Liberation Movement burst onto the streets and screens of a society bewildered by women demanding equal status in the home and the workplace, to the bitter backlash to their successes that resulted in the introduction of the Eighth Amendment’s fixture in the Irish Constitution in 1983. It then takes us through several decades of profound anger, trauma, solidarity and sisterhood, leading ultimately to the dazzling Together For Yes campaign whose determination and grit finally rid Ireland of Article 40.3.3 in 2018.
We are joined by the two editors of this powerful social history, Therese Caherty and Pauline Conroy, to hear about the individual tragedy, referendums, court cases, the actions of a misogynist Church and State. They will bring photography from their book as prompts to shine a light on the stories of those affected by the introduction and eventual retraction of the Eighth Amendment.
The Road to Repeal: 50 Years of Struggle in Ireland for Contraception and Abortion edited by Therese Caherty, Pauline Conroy and Derek Speirs is published by Lilliput Press. It will be available to buy from Waterstones on the night.
You can also buy it from bookshop.org now. If you buy books linked to our site, we may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops.
Main image credit: Derek Speirs who co-edited and took many of the photographs for Road to Repeal
In partnership with
Therese Caherty is a journalist, trade unionist and feminist writer who engaged in the major turning points in reproductive rights campaigns in recent years. She was assistant editor in women’s publisher Attic Press. She is a former member of the Irish Executive and Equality Councils of the National Union of Journalists and NUJ rep for the Irish Congress of Trade Unions Women’s Committee. She co-founded and chaired the Irish Women Workers Commemorative Committee, and the Trade Union Campaign to Repeal the 8th Amendment.
Pauline Conroy is a social scientist, policy analyst and author who has published extensively on reproductive rights since the 1980s. Her publications on gender themes, poverty issues and reproductive rights have been published worldwide. She has been an expert in social policy with the European Commission, the Council of Europe and the International Labour Organisation. Pauline was co-editor of Gender in Irish Society in 1987 with Galway University Press. In 2018 she authored A Bit Different – Disability in Ireland with Orpen Press.
Sarah LeFanu is an independent scholar and writer. She is the author of Something of Themselves: Kipling, Kingsley, Conan Doyle and the Anglo-Boer War (Hurst, 2020), which was shortlisted for the 2021 Elizabeth Longford Prize for Historical Biography. She has published books on feminism and science fiction, on the English writer Rose Macaulay, and on the liberation struggle in Mozambique and Mozambique’s first president Samora Machel. For ten years she worked at The Women’s Press and from 2004 to 2009 she was Artistic Director of the Bath Literature Festival.
Booking information
Ticket booking is via Eventbrite. Please note that Eventbrite is a third-party service that is not owned or managed by Bristol Ideas. Please review Eventbrite’s terms and conditions and Privacy Policy as we do not accept any responsibility or liability for the policies. You can read Bristol Ideas’ Privacy policy here.
We only refund tickets if the event is cancelled. Events start punctually and, out of consideration to other audience members and speakers, our policy is not to admit or issue refunds to latecomers. Full Terms and Conditions here.
Pay What You Feel
This event is part of our new ticket pricing structure where we ask people to pay what they feel they can afford in accordance with their means. Read more about it here. Read on for the ticket prices for this event.
One free carer ticket can be booked at the same time for a paying disabled visitor. If you need to book more than one, please contact us before booking to arrange.
Pay It Forward £13
The Pay It Forward option enables you to book a ticket above the standard price, and will help to subsidise a ticket for someone who requires the Pay What You Can option. This option is aimed at people who are able to meet their basic needs and would like to help somebody else with the cost of their ticket.
- Is this for me? – I have access to a regular and stable income and I have the means and desire to contribute towards making the event affordable for others and supporting Bristol Ideas.
Recommended £10
This recommended price is based on what we’d traditionally charge for a similar event. It helps us make sure that basic costs are covered. This price is aimed at people who are able to meet their basic needs and have enough to live on.
- Is this for me? – I have access to a regular and disposable income, and I can comfortably afford the recommended ticket price.
Supported £7
This option is lower than the recommended price. It is subsidised by Bristol Ideas and fellow audience members who have booked at the Pay It Forward rate. This price is aimed at people who could do with support to get by.
- Is this for me? – My access to income is low and unstable and I worry about meeting my basic needs. I would select a concession rate due to my personal circumstances.
No one will be turned away due to lack of funds, so please contact us if you have any queries.
Ticket booking is via Eventbrite. Please note that Eventbrite is a third-party service that is not owned or managed by Bristol Ideas. Please review Eventbrite’s terms and conditions and Privacy Policy as we do not accept any responsibility or liability for the policies. You can read Bristol Ideas’ Privacy policy here.
We only refund tickets if the event is cancelled. Events start punctually and, out of consideration to other audience members and speakers, our policy is not to admit or issue refunds to latecomers. Full Terms and Conditions here.
Accessibility: Royal Photographic Society
One free carer ticket can be provided for each paying disabled visitor, please contact us before booking to arrange. More information about the Royal Photographic Society can be found here.
- Within RPS House, all areas are fully accessible with a lift, ramps and restrooms on each floor.
- If you have any accessibility requirements, please contact us on RPSHouse@rps.org in advance so the team can assist you in your visit.
- Though there is some accessible parking in Paintworks, there are private parking spaces that can be reserved for those with accessibility requirements. Please contact RPS in advance if you would like a space reserved.
- From street level car parking there are lifts available to reach RPS House on the raised ground floor.
- There is level access to the event space.
- There are toilets for public use.
- Guide and assistance dogs are welcome.