WOMEN and their creativity, tenacity, and steadfastness were celebrated on the eve of St Brigid’s Day, Lá Fhéile Bríde at an event in Glasgow City Chambers.
The evening, organised by the city council alongside the Consul General of Ireland formed part of Glasgow’s 850th anniversary celebrations. It was supported by Donegal County Council and attended by Lord Provost Jacqueline McLaren.
Following the recent opening of an exhibition in Donegal Museum titled ‘Mna na nGall,’ which celebrates women of Donegal from 1922 to the 1980s, a panel of experts including two representatives from Donegal County Council laid bare the injustice and inequity faced by women in the Irish Free State.
In their talks, archivist, Dr Niamh Brennan, and assistant curator, Caroline Carr, showed the reality of life for women at the time, how they had to overcome tremendous difficulties, and the better lives that lay ahead.
From the Marriage Bar—which not only meant women had to relinquish their jobs in the civil service and the professions, but later affected their pension rights—to not being permitted to buy a drink in a pub, women were afforded few of the rights men could expect. They not even allowed to collect their own children’s allowance.
Featuring archive and heritage material, the themes of healthcare, education, politics and homelife, are covered in the exhibition with the historical links between Donegal and Glasgow and the west of Scotland highlighted.
Sections include the Irish Countrywomen’s Association and its influence on social change over the last century, and the effects of the Mother and Baby Homes.
The importance of visual records of heritage was shown by two of the panelists. In a presentation by Dr Rachael Flynn spoke of her own family history and the range of artistic disciplines she employed to share the experiences of migration between Ireland and Scotland.
Visual artist, Christina McBride, in a residency, explored her mother’s homeplace of Gaoth Dobhair through a series of analogue and fibre-based prints.
Glasgow Senior archivist, Dr Irene O’Brien, explained the work of the city archives and
how essential they are to understanding the past.
“It is important that we work to provide a more balanced and informed perspective on the past, not only to enable current and future generations to examine and understand their history, and those who contribute to it. But also to ensure the silences long haunting archives may be begin to be heard,” Dr O’Brien said.
Also, in a surprise and welcome announcement, the moderator the evening, Baillie Annette Christie, revealed that St Brigid’s Day will be celebrated annually by the City Council.
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