Eve in Ireland

Eve in Ireland explores the political and cultural structures used to control Irish women between 1922 and 1972. It challenges the reader to reflect on a shameful and degrading aspect of Irish cultural history, one whose impact is still being felt today.

A unique integration of historical research, original photographic material, archival images, official Catholic doctrine and Irish Government statements, Eve in Ireland will touch the hearts of many, and hopefully aid healing for generations of Irish women.

These were women who were required to give up paid employment when they got married; who could never refuse sex with their husbands as to do so was a ‘sin’, but could not avoid pregnancy as contraception was banned in order to produce legions of children for Holy Catholic Ireland; who were pressured to surrender their babies if they produced them when unwed; and who dutifully passed on the faith to the next generation, while the church–state alliance allowed thousands of children to be abused in religious institutions.

These were the women who dropped to their knees nightly to say the rosary and had to bite their tongue every time something needed to be said. Many went to the doctor to get tablets for ‘the nerves’ or, worse still, were detained in a psychiatric hospital until claimed by their husbands. These were the women who could have been left destitute after a husband’s death if he decided to leave everything to a favorite nephew.

Eve in Ireland pays tribute to these lived experiences of Irish women that have left deep scars on their psyche, their children and society. The ghosts of our shared past demand to be heard if Ireland is to reach full maturity as a democratic nation.

This is our history, and our children’s history.