Women’s Grassroots Activism Podcast Series Launch!

LISTEN HERE: Women’s Grassroots Activism Podcast Series – History Hub

🎙This podcast series tells stories of women’s grassroots activism across the island of Ireland and in England from 1918 to the present. These stories highlight the diverse ways that members of the Irish Countrywomen’s Association (ICA), the Soroptimists International Great Britain and Ireland (SIGBI), the National Federation of Women’s Institutes (NFWI) and the Federation of Women’s Institutes of Northern Ireland (WINI) contributed to enhancing the lives of women and girls locally, nationally and globally. The podcast series is funded by the United Kingdom Research Innovation (UKRI) Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) as part of the grant awarded for Agency and Advocacy: Locating Women’s Grassroots Activism in England and Ireland, 1918 to the present (Project Reference: AH/X008606/1, August 2023 -January 2025). Our research team is made up of Principal Investigator Professor Caitríona Beaumont (London South Bank University and Visiting Full Professor at University College Dublin), Co-Investigator is Dr Anne Logan (University of Kent), Dr Ruth Davidson (Institute of Historical Research, University of London), Dr Anna Muggeridge (University of Worcester) and Rachel Collett (University of Liverpool). Our podcast series is supported by our participating women’s organisations the ICA, SIGBI, NFWI and WINI.

📻Episode 1 – Women’s Grassroots Activism: the ICA’s long history of activism

🔵Our first episode with Prof Caitríona Beaumont, Mary D’Arcy, President of the Irish Countrywomen’s Association (ICA), Breda Cahill, ICA Wexford Federation President and Deirdre Connery, member of Duncannon, Co. Wexford ICA guild, was recorded at An Grianán, Co. Louth. The ICA’s An Grianán is Ireland’s first residential adult education college and opened in 1954. In this episode we chat about the history of the ICA and its activities over the past 100 years to learn more about the contribution of this national women’s organisation to Irish history, Irish society and to the everyday lives of women in Ireland.