European Studies - Ireland, Feminism & Feminist Theory, Women - Europe

The Irish Women's Movement : From Revolution to Devolution

Name: The Irish Women's Movement : From Revolution to Devolution
Author: Linda Connolly
ISBN: 9781843510253

by Linda Connolly

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Overview

This book provides a comprehensive analysis of the emergence, consolidation and development of the Irish women's movement, as a social movement, in the course of the twentieth century. It seeks to address several lacunae in Irish studies by illuminating the processes through which the movement and, in particular, networks of constituent organisations, came to fruition as agencies of social change.

Feminism encompasses a major intellectual and political tradition in Ireland. Yet a meticulous survey and synthesis of key historical and contemporary perspectives, including modernisation theory, historiography and post-colonialism, reveals how feminism is both misrepresented and misunderstood in mainstream Irish studies. While the social and political dynamics of the movement are captured in some detail in the book, it is demonstrated how inclusion of the women's movement fundamentally challenges established interpretations of the way in which 'modern' Irish society has changed and developed, over time. In the process, new theoretical directions in Irish studies are created.