Women Who Dared

FREE inside this week's paper: Our third tribute to women

WOMEN Who Dared 3 is free with your newspaper today, International Women’s Day. In it are the stories of 45 local women.

The oldest will soon be 103 years old and the youngest is 16. The age spread among them represents the seven ages of woman from 1920 to 2006.

The three centenarians profiled in the magazine grew up during a time of war, depression, frugality, and oppression. Women especially experienced systematic control by State and Church, had few rights, and had no separate legal identity from that of their husbands. They had no right to contraception or divorce.

It was only between 1973 and 1977 that the marriage bar ended for Irish women. The bar had required them to give up their jobs once married.

Our youngest here were born in the 21st century and grew up seeing their parents use the internet, mobile phones, tablets and social media. They are the first to experience cyber bullying.

Some may no longer read a physical book or newspaper, but, instead, virtual representations. Education has given an independence to women, so we need no longer be dependent on a husband…

For more on this, and to receive your FREE copy of WWD3, pick up this week’s Tuam Herald.

The digital version of this publication is also available to purchase online and can be accessed here