Book review: IWU members' essays offer first-hand accounts of activists on the Contraception Train

Irish Examiner

2 days ago

The vast accomplishments of modern Irish feminism would look very different without the courageous, yet often overlooked, efforts of Irishwomen United (IWU) activists in the years following the Contraceptive Train.
This phenomenal collection of 20 essays offers first-hand, historical accounts of on-the-ground activities during this period, shining a light of neglected truth on the history of how Ireland was changed.
In this book, writer and IWU member Evelyn Conlon together with academic Rebecca Pelan, ensure the impact of the organisation will no longer be forgotten.
The collective memories of these women describe everything from pickets to sit-ins, self-questioning to dancing, the development of feminist ideas and publishing despite the restrictive laws and attitudes surrounding them.
Through relentless, difficult discussions, publications, marches, and allyship with the global feminist and civil rights movement, the ideas of IWU were transformed into action for the sake of reproductive rights, sexuality, representation, and rape crisis work.
The foreword from former Irish president Mary McAleese contextualises the collective labour of IWU within a not-so-distant past in Ireland
This book also features an archive of original art, flyers, photographs, and memorabilia of the movement.
A glimpse at the long-winding track of history behind us reminds us how far we've come.
Irishwomen United and its allies set the precedent for change for the next generation. The stories of these women campaigners are not only representative of past movements, they also a call to action for future social justice activists in the fight for liberation and equality for all.
Foreword by Mary McAleese
The position of women in Irish society in 2025 bears little resemblance to that which existed in 1975, the year Irishwomen United came into existence, though what is clear from these essays is that the changes and improvements gained did not come about without a great deal of effort on the part of women themselves.
This collection attests to what can be achieved when goals and pathways to essential egalitarian reforms are collectively prioritised, regardless of political and ideological differences.
Irishwomen United drew on successes from the recent and distant past, by bringing together women from vastly different backgrounds in education, class, sexual orientation, and politics.
Irishwomen United picketed at Dublin Airport picket over the X Case. Picture: Evelyn Conlon
Extraordinarily, their mission thrived on allowing space for these differences to be expressed whilst, at the same time, retaining a clear focus on what needed to be done to improve the lives of Irish women.
There was a lot of apathy to be overcome, resistance to be faced down, doubters to be persuaded, and time to be invested over and above the demands of busy everyday lives.
That time had to be reinvested over and over again, for this was the work of decades not days.
That such a representative group from the 1970s and 1980s has contributed to this collection 50 years after the events is testimony to their commitment to a cause that changed the country in significant ways. For some, the commitment continued as a life-long passion and a central part of who they are.
For others, Irishwomen United was a moment in time — an exciting, stimulating, even dangerous one — that set them on a path of personal discovery about themselves and the world around them.
The recurring description by contributors of the anticipation, excitement, joy, and satisfaction felt around 4pm on Sunday afternoons in a run-down flat on Pembroke St, Dublin, is palpable and shines bright in memories captured here. Make no mistake, though these meetings were stimulating and enjoyable, they were primarily about planning and strategising on how to change Ireland, in whatever ways were necessary.
The equally strong, determined voices from organisations that were part of that change — from Cherish to women's publishing — is fascinating to read.
In 1976, I became legal advisor to and co-founder with David Norris of the Campaign for Homosexual Law Reform.
The battle then was for decriminalisation, and it was fought tooth and claw with meagre resources, but fierce moral integrity, through the courts of this land and Europe
When the fledgling Dublin Rape Crisis Centre (RCC) was being set-up, they requested advice as to the legal issues involved, and I was privileged to be able to give that.
A great deal of thought and research went into the establishment of the RCC, with initial meetings taking place from 1977 until the official opening in 1979 and thereafter. The RCC remains one of many enduring success stories from that period.
Along with other service agencies from the period — such as Cherish, The Well Woman Centre, and the Irish Pregnancy Counselling Centre, the development of women's publishing and women's studies, the creation of space for the development of lesbian and gay rights, as well as Irish reproductive rights — Irishwomen United and the network of women and groups who changed this country in so many ways, did so from the ground up, building on what had gone before, and changing course only when enough had been achieved to ensure that there would be no going back.
'After the Train: Irishwomen United and a Network of Change' also features an archive of original art, flyers, photographs, and memorabilia of the movement.
There were minds to be changed, attitudes to be challenged and, in fairness to the Irish people, the evidence is in that a profound change of hearts and minds is now embedded in civic society. Séamus Heaney wrote perceptively that: "What looks the strongest has outlived its term. The future lies with what is affirmed from under." (From the Canton of Expectation III)
From under the centuries-old layers of sexism, misogyny, patriarchy, exclusion, dismissal, and condescension, a new future has emerged and not by accident or coincidence!
The 'how' of it you will read here.
I heartily commend the contributors to this collection, all of whom have so generously shared their first-hand experience of Irishwomen United and the times of change, and I congratulate the editors on putting together such a fine example of Irish women's voices and history, and in creating a body of work that will continue to be relevant and exist as documentary evidence of just what can be achieved, what grace can fill the voids, when women gather to change their world.