Irish Left Archive

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Digital collection of political material from the Irish Left.

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8th June 1975 Irish Women United was constituted.

Their magazine, Banshee, explains their foundation:

https://www.leftarchive.ie/calendar/on-this-day/06/08/#event-5524

On This Day, 8th June

Irish Left Archive

Scanned text reading: What is Irish Women United? We are a group of Women's liberationists who believe that the best perspective for struggle against women's oppression in Ireland lies in an ongoing fight around the charter of demands printed here. We came together originally in April 1975 as a few individual women interested in the idea of building a conference to discuss a charter; what its demands should be and how a campaign should be built. At this conference on June 8th, attended by approximately 100 women, we constituted ourselves as a separate group, Irish Women United -- the only criteria for joining to be agreement on the demands of the Charter. Irish Women United works on the basis of general meetings (discussions and action planning, at present every week in Dublin), join actions (e.g. pickets, public meetings, workshops, at present on women in trade unions, contraception, social welfare and political theory) and consciousness-raising groups.
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An illustration from Banshee, magazine of Irish Women United, from 1976.

Later this year, Ireland will have a referendum on gender equality, to remove references to "women in the home" and enshrine equality in the constitution.

An illustration of a balance scales with a man on one side and a woman on the other. A large hand is pushing the woman upwards to skew the balance. It is subtitled, "Women & The Constitution"
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A list of pubs to boycott who wouldn't serve women, from 1976.

Taken from Banshee, magazine of Irish Women United.

The practice of refusing to serve women in some bars didn't end completely until the late 1990s.

https://www.leftarchive.ie/document/view/2728/?page=15

View Document: Banshee, Vol. 1, No. 2 - Irish Women United

Irish Left Archive

Scanned magazine clipping, reading: MORE PUBS TO BOYCOTT DOLLYMOUNT INN, Dollymount — Women not served a all BLACK SHEEP, Coolock — Women not served at all FAGAN'S BAR, Upr. Drumcondra Rd. — No Pints served to women in Lounge and Bar exclusive to males — AND A CHIPPER ... For the dubious pleasure of parting with 20p for a single and 15p for a portion of beans after 9 p.m. at DI MASCIOS in MARLBOROUGH STREET, you'll have to have a male in tow. Dogs and pushcars are not allowed at any time and after 9 p.m. the axe falls on “unaccompanied ladies”. Are they afraid we'll attack the long ray!
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An account of a 1977 Irish Women United action to buy and distribute the UK second wave feminist magazine, Spare Rib, in response to the Irish censor banning it as 'obscene'.

From the Irish Women United magazine, Banshee: https://www.leftarchive.ie/document/1894/

Banshee, No. 7 (1977) — Irish Women United

Irish Left Archive

Scanned article headlined "Spare Rib" and reading: A WEEK AGO THE CENSORSHIP BOARD BANNED SPARE RIB ON THE GROUNDS THAT IT IS OBSCENE AND INDECENT. ON SAT, THE 12th MEMBERS OF 1W.U. WENT TO BELFAST TO PICK UP 22 COPIES OF THE MAGAZINE, WITH THE INTENTION OF DEFYING THE BAN BY SELLING THEM OPENLY IN DUBLIN. There we were, all 20 of us, bright and bleary eyed, aboard the 8.30 shoppers special to Belfast. Two and and a half hours later, we arrived in Belfast where a sister from the Northern Women's movement was waiting or us to lead us through check points and back streets to a pub where we settled down to a lunch of sandwiches and Guinness at 33p a pint. A couple of hours later more women Joined us with placards condemning the banning of Spare Rib, and we all s out o form a picket outside Board Failte [sic] which was conveniently situated right next door to the pub. At 5.30 we were back on the train heading for Dublin with our precious booty of 200 Spare Rib. This time we commandeered the entire first compartment of the train and waited impatiently for customs officers to make their appearance at Dundalk. At Dundalk a custom officer walked straight through looking at his shoes; 3 of the women chased after hm, to inform him that they were bringing banned magazines through. The official turned his back, raised his hand and said "that's alright, go ahead." Next thing we were in Dublin station. We jumped out as soon as the train stopped, and linking arms formed lines of five and marched down the platform chanting "Lift the ban on Spare Rib" and “We'll read what we want not what we're told". At once, our sisters from the home team, awaiting us behind the ticket barrier, joined in the chanting and lifted placards for all to see. The sisters from the train stopped at the barrier and let the other passengers through, with women both side of the barrier singing and chanting the whole time. We surged through the barrier and when a woman asked a guard if he would like to buy one of the copies he attempted to arrest her. We then began to chant "we are all selling Spare Rib". Totally unimpressed by this display of male legality we surrounded the Gardaí and our victimised sister and with sustained enthusiasm we linked arms and took him for a frantic dance across the platform chanting "one for all and all for one" and “would you like to buy Spare Rib". At this stage, police reinforcements arrived and one guard losing his cool together with his cap, seized a brief case from one of the women and tried to run away with it. Eventually he discovered that it contained none of the "obscene" material. He returned it to its owner. Then at last realizing that they were overpowered ideologically and physically, the gardaí gave up. As a sergeant later admitted to the press "An attempt was made to seize Spare Rib, the attempt failed". And so we left, victorious in the first battle of the campaign.