Trace the legal history of women in Ireland, from ancient Brehon law to the fight for autonomy today. Followed by Q&A.

What did it actually mean to be a wife, a mother, or a woman under Irish law?

In this talk, we weave together Irish history, family law and the often hazardous realities of intimate relationships for women through the ages – starting with how marriage, divorce, and child-rearing were handled under the Brehon law, long before the state had any say in a woman's private life.

Then came the Irish Free State – and with it, new ways to control women's lives. From a marriage bar that forced women out of paid work, to a constitution that quietly defined a woman's place, we'll trace how Irish law has shaped, and been shaped by, generations of women fighting for the right to choose their own path – a fight that, as recent history shows, is far from over.

Doors open at 7pm, talk starts at 7:30pm - come down early to grab a good seat!

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Speaker Bio:

Jane Mulcahy PhD is researcher and activist, with extensive research experience on prison, Probation, law, human rights and trauma. She has worked as a researcher in the area of criminal justice, penal policy and social justice since 2005 and is currently a Research Fellow with the Research Evidence into the Policy, Programmes and Practice (REPPP) team at the University of Limerick. Jane has also spoken before the UN Committee against Torture on human rights issues in prison, the Justice Sub-Committee on Penal Reform on proposed bail reform, at the Fair Trials’ Expert Seminar on Pre-trial Detention in London and the Bail and Jail event at Harvard Law. Her podcast ‘Law and Justice’ won a Justice Media Award for her documentary series on ‘Humanising Human Rights’ in 2017.

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