The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day is #ChooseToChallenge. In our last article we looked at some inspirational women in herstory, who fought and overcame many challenges to achieve their goals. In doing so, not only did they make the world a better place, but they encouraged and supported the women who followed. They have inspired women to recognise their own strength and courage as a woman and to strive for their own dreams.

Mary McCarthy

Mary is the Director of Crawford Art Gallery, Cork. Mary has a wealth of experience and appreciation of art and culture. Following her studies in English and Philosophy, Mary was offered a post in a New York gallery. Returning to Ireland, she worked at Irish Museum of Modern Art before taking the role of Director in the National Sculpture Factory. In 2018, Mary attained her position in Crawford Art Gallery, the first female director. 

What women support and inspire you?   

Starts within the family, my mother and sister and friends support and inspire me.I’m very inspired by artists like Margaret Clarke from the 1920s to contemporary artists such as Alice Maher, Aideen Barry, Clare Langan , Jesse Jones and many others who are activists for social change- who collaborate and co create art and support others.

How can we create workplaces that encourage gender and thought diversification? 

We need  to create a culture where difference can thrive and different insights and backgrounds are sought out.

We need to listen as well as talk, we need to keep our opinions in check, we need to broadcast less and converse more.

What is your International Women’s Day message that you’d like to share? 

A lot achieved- a lot more to do. We need to ensure that change is real and continuous and not just apparent. We all have a role and women who are in positions of influence must continue to be mindful of the traditional hierarchical structures and reform them to enable real structural change. We can be hopeful  but not complacent.

The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day is #ChooseToChallenge. In our last article we looked at some inspirational women in herstory, who fought and overcame many challenges to achieve their goals. In doing so, not only did they make the world a better place, but they encouraged and supported the women who followed. They have inspired women to recognise their own strength and courage as a woman and to strive for their own dreams.

Holly Cairns

Holly is a West Cork Social Democrats TD. She is a spokesperson for Agriculture, Food and Marine, Rural and Community development, Disability matters, Women’s rights and voices.
Holly is also a farmer and scientist, combining these passions in her studies of Organic Horticulture. Holly runs a company Brown Envelope Seeds, with her mother, Madeline McKeever.

What women are influential in your life?

My mum is my biggest influence and a massive inspiration for me. She is a farmer and a botanist and runs her own seed company, Brown Envelope Seeds.

I’m also inspired by the work of Marie Mullholland of West Cork Women Against Violence and all the other women working with people who’ve been affected by domestic violence.  I’ve been raising issues about the lack of support services for domestic violence with the Government ever since I entered the Dáil last year and Marie has been a great source of help and information.

 There is an imbalance of gender in politics and it’s vital that we have more women like you advocating for change. What advice would you give to any women thinking about entering politics?

I would say that if you don’t feel represented by your current representatives, chances are there are a lot of other people who feel the same way and would love the opportunity to vote for someone like you. I’d advise joining a political party like the Social Democrats because a) they are wonderful and b)elections are hard work and they are a brilliant help and support.  

What is your International Women’s Day message that you’d like to share?

My message this International Women’s Day (and every day to be honest) is that we need #MoreMná. We need more women at the decision-making tables. Better representation will lead to better decision-making.

The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day is #ChooseToChallenge. In our last article we looked at some inspirational women in herstory, who fought and overcame many challenges to achieve their goals. In doing so, not only did they make the world a better place, but they encouraged and supported the women who followed. They have inspired women to recognise their own strength and courage as a woman and to strive for their own dreams.

Emer O’ Neill

Emer is an RTE múinteor, bringing exercise to our nation’s children through the School Hubs. Emer played basketball for Ireland and received a scholarship to American, where she studied Physical Education. In addition to this, Emer is a motivational Irish voice, challenging racism, particularly in Ireland and raising awareness about the importance of celebrating diversity. 

What women support and inspire you?

I’ve only got one woman that really inspires me and has made me who I am today and that’s my Mum. She’s such a strong woman, she’s been through so much; a single parent of two kids, going from being penniless to owning her own house and having a great career as a nurse. I look up to her so much. The strength and determination that I have comes from her. I love me Mammy!

How can we create workplaces that encourage gender and thought diversification?

I think it’s very important to have things in place where you have to have a certain number of female staff, in order to ensure that women are getting the same benefits and opportunities as men. I think education is key. We need to see more females in lines of STEM, like science, technology, engineering and mathematics. I think there isn’t a big enough push for girls and women in that area from school in secondary level, to push them into third level and into jobs in those fields. 

To ensure there is a good gender balance programmes need to be created that are specifically for girls in schools that will bring them to companies to give them an idea of what it would be like to work in those fields. This will give them the idea that they could do this. For girls to see women in those positions is huge – if you can see it you can be it. 

What is your International Women’s Day message that you’d like to share?

The message I would like to share is that, all of us women out there are absolutely amazing! We’re very strong, we’re usually the glue that holds everything together and we do a lot of the work that goes unnoticed. 

There’s been so much change over the years. When you think back to a time that women, once married, couldn’t work. That you were there to make a home, to ensure that you husband was happy and satisfied and that the kids were taken care of. We’re in a nice position in the 21st century, where women can go out and have professions, but we still end up juggling everything, as far as home and work. 

I think we are amazing and I want you to give yourselves a big hug and a big tap on the back. We’ve got a way to go but we’re going to get there. As women, I honestly think we rule the world. There are so many inspirational women out there, it’s amazing. So ladies, keep doing what you’re doing. Have a great Mother’s Day and International Women’s Day.

The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day is #ChooseToChallenge. In our last article we looked at some inspirational women in herstory, who fought and overcame many challenges to achieve their goals. In doing so, not only did they make the world a better place, but they encouraged and supported the women who followed. They have inspired women to recognise their own strength and courage as a woman and to strive for their own dreams.

Darina Allen

Irish chef, food writer, TV personality, natural teacher and founder of Ballymaloe Cookery School in Shanagarry, County Cork. Darina is a leader of the Slow Food movement in Ireland and instrumental in establishing a network of farmers’ markets. Darina is chair of the Midleton Farmers Market. Darina is an advocate of organic and local produce with a dedication to sustainability. 

What women are influential in your life?

My mother, Elizabeth O’ Connell and mother-in-law, Myrtle Allen was incredibly influential in their work ethics and values. They both understood the importance of feeding your family well with wholesome and nourishing food, as it helps so much with mood, energy and vitality. 

Vandana Shiva, is an Indian woman who works with farmers in India to save seeds. She is an incredible environmentalist. I’m also very impressed by the New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern and Alice Waters from California who started the Edible Foods Campaign. Alice Waters and Stephanie Alexander from Australia, have both been incredibly influential in working with school’s to educate children how to grow food. 

You have such an amazing passion and flair for food. What advice would you give to any women interested in making a career out of their love of food?

If you can cook, there are countless opportunities all over the world to make a living, working in a cafe or restaurant, starting off your own business, setting up a food truck, selling your products at a Farmer’s Market or online, such as cakes, jams or ice-cream. Not only is cooking the easiest way to win friends and influence people, but it also enhances your own quality of life. 

Learn to cook with fresh, seasonal and chemical free food. If you start off with something fresh and delicious it’s going to be easy to make it taste good. Taste, flavour and nutrients are closely linked. Learn about the foods in the wild as there’s so many good nutrient foods all around us. Get curious and learn about wild and foraged foods. Wild foods are bursting with goodness and full or flavour, such as; nettle soup, nettle champ, winter cress, watercress and dandelions. I would recommend eating a dandelion leaf every day as it’s so good for you. 

What is your International Women’s Day message that you’d like to share? 

In kitchen culture globally, women had to put up with all kinds of abuse. Women were told to “just get over it” and “suck it up” as that was kitchen culture. The Me Too movement was like a tidal way of people coming out and saying – this is not okay. People were sharing their experiences and realising what happened is not okay, that sexisim is not accaptable and they do not have to put up with it. 

Sexisim can be a very deep cultural thing, both women and men need to know that it is not okay. Be cautious about someone who is joking about women, or says you can’t do this or that, because you’re a woman. While they may say it as a joke, it could be an indication of a hidden prejudice towards women that could manifest in different, more violent ways later on. 

One needs to be very clear of oneself. 

Irena Sendlerowa

Irena Sendlerowa was a Polish hero during world war II. She saved over 2,500 Jewish children, by smuggling them out of the Warsaw Ghetto between 1942 and 1943 to safe hiding places. She also found non- Jewish families to adopt them. From the beginning of the German occupation she led a double life. Officially: employee of Warsaw City Council. Unofficially: an activist in the Polish Socialist Party, and later on the Żegota Polish Council to Aid Jews as ‘sister Jolanta’.

Read more of her incredible story: https://culture.pl/en/artist/irena-sendlerowa.

Hanna Sheehy-Skefffington

Hanna Sheehy-Skefffington,  was born 24 May 1877, was one of Ireland’s most ardent promoters of women’s rights. She was an influential figure during the suffragette movement, tirelessly campaigning for the equal status of men and women in Ireland .She was responsible for founding the Irish Women’s Franchise League in 1908 with her husband, Francis Sheehy-Skeffington, and Margaret Cousins. This was a militant suffrage organisation that played an important role in the pursuit of civil rights. Additionally, in 1911 Skeffington became one of the founding members of the Irish Women’s Workers Union, an autonomous branch of the Irish Transport and general Workers’ Union (ITGWU).

Learn more at womensmuseumofireland.ie

Harriet Tubman

Harriet Tubman was an escaped enslaved woman who became a “conductor” on the Underground Railroad, leading enslaved people to freedom before the Civil War, all while carrying a bounty on her head. But she was also a nurse, a Union spy and a women’s suffrage supporter. Tubman is one of the most recognized icons in American history and her legacy has inspired countless people from every race and background.

Find out more: https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/harriet-tubman

Lilian Bland

Lilian Bland was born on 28 September 1878 in Kent, England. She was an unconventional young woman for the time, engaging in activities that were not considered appropriate for a ‘young lady’ in the Edwardian period. She became a journalist and pioneer aviator. In 1910 she became the first woman in the British Isles and possibly the world, to design, build and fly an aircraft.

Read her story: https://womensmuseumofireland.ie/articles/lilian-bland

Claudette Colvin

“A 15-year-old gifted Black student, with aspirations to become a civil rights attorney, took a window seat near the exit door. She gazed outdoors until the white driver instructed her to give up her seat for a white passenger standing nearby” – Claudette Colvin refused.

Read her story here: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/feb/25/claudette-colvin-the-woman-who-refused-to-give-up-her-bus-seat-nine-months-before-rosa-parks

Lena Rice

Born in 1866 in Co. Tipperary, Lena Rice is renowned as Ireland’s most successful female tennis player. Rice’s lawn tennis career only spanned two seasons, but it ended with her being named Wimbledon Champion in 1890 and credited with inventing the forehand smash, used by the present day big-hitting female tennis stars”. irishpost.com

Anandi Gopal Joshi

Born at a time when most women in her country did not receive an education, she set sail for America at the age of 18 to study medicine. Anandi Gopal Joshi graduated from the Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1885, becoming the first Indian woman to obtain a degree in western medicine. Although she died young, her determination to challenge gender stereotypes and cultural customs blazed a trail for generations to come”.

Women’s experiences in Cuanlee

Children’s experiences in Cuanlee

At Cuanlee, we believe it is vital to hear and recognise children’s perspectives of their experiences. We believe it is essential to include children’s voices in building a service that is here to support them. Here is the feedback that some children shared about their stay at Cuanlee Refuge. 

Impact of domestic abuse on children

Siobháin Leahy, Team Leader at Cuanlee Refuge discusses the impact of domestic abuse on children and the support available here at Cuanlee. Support is offered for you and your children in an open, non-judgemental, safe space.

Domestic Violence Court Orders

Mary Cullinane, Assistant Manager of Cuanlee Refuge explains the different types of domestic abuse court orders, what is covered and the application process.
Here at Cuanlee, we offer a court accompaniment and preparation service as going to court can be a very daunting and difficult process.