Women across Limerick share their wisdom for International Women’s Day

Women’s Collective Ireland – Limerick brought women across Limerick together to share their wisdom for International Women’s Day. WCI Limerick staff, event facilitators and Ailbhe Smyth. Photo credit: Laura O’Loughlin

On Tuesday, March 10, Women’s Collective Ireland – Limerick hosted their annual International Women’s Day event

This year, the Women’s Collective Ireland – Limerick Women’s Day event focused on Women’s Wisdom, where over 80 women gathered to discuss political issues and share their experiences. Feminist, activist and Women’s Collective Ireland patron, Ailbhe Smyth, was also in attendance.

Women’s Wisdom saw a World Café-style format covering six topics, each of which was dedicated to a feminist hero of the Collective. Topics covered included Peace and Neutrality, Men and State Violence Against Women, and, Women and Politics. Some of the feminists honoured by the Collective included Margareta D’Arcy, Sinead O’Connor, Nell McCaffery and Edel Geraghty, who previously worked for the Collective and passed away in 2024.

The issues that garnered the most discussion from participants were global peace and the Triple Lock especially following on from President Catherine Connelly’s strong statement on International Women’s Day, and that the Midwest does not have a 24-hour Sexual Assault Treatment Unit (SATU). Additionally, the Midwest is the only area in the country where any survivor who wishes to avail of a forensic medical examination (FME) must report their assault to the Gardaí first or be forced to travel to other areas where reporting is not required.

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Yvie Murphy, Women’s Collective Ireland – Limerick Coordinator, said, “Our work centres around creating safe and welcoming spaces where women can gather, connect and talk about the issues that are important to them. Many of the women who attended were horrified about the lack of a 24-hour SATU service in the Midwest. They were also fearful of the current political landscape and attempts by Government to dismantle the Triple Lock and forgo Ireland’s neutrality. Not only did this event see over 80 women share their stories and experiences, it also saw them become motivated to contact their political representatives about issues they are concerned about. Women standing up for their rights and equality is what International Women’s Day is all about.”

Ailbhe Smyth added, “The WCI Limerick International Women’s Day celebration was a terrific event, bringing together a really wide range of women of all ages and backgrounds. The World Café conversations were invigorating. It was refreshing to hear women tackle ‘live’ topics like the Triple Lock and Neutrality, as well as women in politics, Men and state violence against women, the experiences of single women in Ireland, and much more. Limerick women are not slow to express their very well-informed views and to have excellent debates with one another. A big ‘thank you’ to WCI Limerick for such an enjoyable and energising evening.”