In 1991, the people of Ireland elected Mary Robinson, a women's rights crusader who supported legalized birth control and divorce, as their president. The country seemed poised for massive social and legal change, but it became apparent that even though Ireland at the dawn of the 21st century would be very different from the Ireland of the past, many fundamentals would remain the same. This book examines Irish abortion and divorce law in their historical, religious, and cultural contexts. Its main focus is on the well-publicized referenda and court cases of the 1980s and 1990s, with special attention given to their roots and potential long-term effects on the communitarian Irish culture and opportunities for Irish women. The author identifies and discusses three forces that have affected Irish law and mores, especially those relating to abortion and divorce: economic insecurity; a sense of group loyalty and identification, particularly within families and churches; and Catholic teaching about the common good.

This book is about two subjects which have been discussed extensively and these are abortion and divorce. The Author shows both side of argument, demand for abortion and no abortion at all.

Spanning the island of Ireland over three centuries, this first history of Irish divorce places the human experience of marriage breakdown centre stage to explore the impact of a highly restrictive and gendered law, and its reform, on Irish society.

Abortion is illegal in almost every circumstance in Ireland, making it the only democracy in the western world to have such a constitutional ban. Between 1980 and 2015, at least 165,438 Irish women and girls accessed UK abortion services. In 2016, the figure was 3,265. Any woman or girl who procures an abortion, or anyone who assists a woman to procure an abortion in Ireland can be criminalised and imprisoned for up to fourteen years. A woman may not procure an abortion in Ireland if she is pregnant due to incest or rape, or to prevent inevitable miscarriage and fatal foetal abnormality. The movement to repeal the Eighth Amendment and make abortion legal in Ireland has grown massively over the last few years. This anthology shares the literature, personal stories, opinions, photography, art and design produced by the movement that catalysed 2018’s momentous referendum. Featuring prize-winning novelists, critically acclaimed poets, cutting-edge artists and journalists on the front line, this anthology will be the definitive collection of the art inspired by the most pressing debate in contemporary Ireland, and beyond. Contributors include: Lisa McInerney, Anne Enright, Louise O’Neill, Caitlin Moran, Tara Flynn, Aisling Bea, Sinead Gleeson, Emmet Kirwan.

The research for this book was prompted by a combination of events, in particular the election of Mary Robinson to the Presidency and the X Case which rocked Irish society. The book is an exploration of the dynamics between the courts, the legislators and the Irish citizens in relation to certain socio-sexual questions: divorce, contraception, abortion, and homosexuality. Spanning 73 years since the creation of the Irish State, The Politics of Sexual Morality in Ireland questions the nature of the moral order regulating Irish society and the concept of democracy underlying it. It examines the fragile balance struck between tradition and modernity.

The referendum to overturn Ireland’s near-total abortion ban in 2018 stands as one of the most remarkable political events of recent times. The campaign to repeal the 8th amendment succeeded not only in challenging centuries of religious and patriarchal dogma, but in signalling a major transformation in Irish society itself. After Repeal explores both the campaign and the implications of the referendum result for politics, identity and culture today. Bringing together a range of international perspectives, this collection transcends geographical and disciplinary boundaries while exploring themes including activism, artwork, social movements, law, media, democratic institutions, and reproductive technologies. This work looks beyond the Irish context and to the future, offering unique insight into the wider struggle for reproductive justice around the world.

You're no idiot, of course. You know that St. Patrick's Day is in March, JFK was our only Irish-Catholic President, and the IRA isn't necessarily a tax-deferred account. But when it comes to knowing about the history and culture of Ireland, you feel as Irish as a box of stale Lucky Charms. Don't give up on the luck of the Irish just yet! 'The Complete Idiot's Guide to Irish History and Culture' is here to help you learn all about the Emerald Isle, from the Celts to the present day. In this 'Complete Idiot's Guide', you get: -Fascinating details on Celtic culture.-Blow-by-blow accounts of Ireland's struggle for freedom from British rule.-Exciting tales of great Irish heroes, like Brian Boru and Michael Collins.-Rich cultural traditions, from wedding to wakes.-Concise profiles of Irish icons in politics and the arts, from Daniel O'Connell to Oscar Wilde.

This book reframes the Irish abortion narrative within the history of women’s reproductive health and explores the similarities and differences that shaped the history of abortion within the two states on the island of Ireland. Since the legalisation of abortion in Britain in 1967, an estimated 200,000 women have travelled from Ireland to England for an abortion. However, this abortion trail is at least a century old and began with women migrating to Britain to flee moral intolerance in Ireland towards unmarried mothers and their offspring. This study highlights how attitudes to unmarried motherhood reflected a broader cultural acceptance that morality should trump concerns regarding maternal health. This rationale bled into social and political responses to birth control and abortion and was underpinned by an acknowledgement that in prioritising morality some women would die.

This open access book assembles landmark studies on divorce and separation in European countries, and how this affects the life of parents and children. It focuses on four major areas of post-separation lives, namely (1) economic conditions, (2) parent-child relationships, (3) parent and child well-being, and (4) health. Through studies from several European countries, the book showcases how legal regulations and social policies influence parental and child well-being after divorce and separation. It also illustrates how social policies are interwoven with the normative fabric of a country. For example, it is shown that father-child contact after separation is more intense in those countries which have adopted policies that encourage shared parenting. Correspondingly, countries that have adopted these regulations are at the forefront of more egalitarian gender role attitudes. Apart from a strong emphasis on the legal and social policy context, the studies in this volume adopt a longitudinal perspective and situate post-separation behaviour and well-being in the life course. The longitudinal perspective opens up new avenues for research to understand how behaviour and conditions prior or at divorce and separation affect later behaviour and well-being. As such this book is of special appeal to scholars of family research as well as to anyone interested in the role of divorce and separation in Europe in the 21st century.

Tracing the campaign for marriage equality, this book highlights how this movement and the related referendum result have propelled Ireland from a country perceived as one repressed and controlled by the Catholic church to a country that is now admired as a leader in equality of human rights.