Countess Markievicz School

Countess Markievicz School 2012

Countess Markievicz Summer School — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 17:08:40 +0000

The second annual Countess Markievicz School took place on 12th May 2012 in The Teachers Club, Parnell Square, Dublin. The first panel explored the position of women in Ireland regarding the Constitution. We asked were the suffragettes such as Markievicz who fought for equality in 1916 let down in 1937? The second panel discussed the costly burden of childcare in Ireland. The status of women and their activism in communities was the focus of the final panel. Senator Katherine Zappone provided a surprise when she unveiled a brooch Countess Markievicz had made & given to the mother of an elderly neighbour in Co. Wicklow. There was lots of lively debate and even a sing song at the end!

Markievicz Lecture – First Wave Feminism

Dr. Margaret Ward - Director of Women’s Resource & Development Agency, Belfast

Women & the Constitution

Senator Ivana Bacik – Reid Professor of Law, TCD

Camille Loftus – Lecturer in Social Policy & Politics, UCD,NUIM,IPH

Catherine McGuinness – former Supreme Court Judge

Women & Care

Mariaam Bhatti – Domestic Workers’ Action Group, MRCI

Dr. Niall Hanlon – Lecturer in Social Science, Dublin Business School

Prof. Kathleen Lynch, Equality Studies, UCD

Women’s Voices in the Community

Eilish Corcoran - Longford Women’s Link/Women’s Manifesto

Cathleen O’Neill – Kilbarrack Community Development Project

Dr. Katherine Zappone – Senator and co-founder of An Cosan

Inaugural Countess Markievicz School 2011

Countess Markievicz Summer School — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 17:37:16 +0000

On Saturday June 4th, 140 people attended the first Countess Markievicz School. The speeches ranged from the historical – on the Countess herself, thus setting the context of the school, to the role of women in the political and media spheres in Ireland today. The keynote address was given by Ms. Arni Hole, Director General in the Royal Ministry of Children, Equality & Social Inclusion, Norway, who flew over for the event. Arni gave a well received presentation on the Norwegian experience, commenting afterwards to Lucy our Chairperson, that Ireland is where Norway was 35 years ago! Feedback was overwhelmingly positive and we thank those who gave their time freely to speak at the event and the audience who participated with enthusiasm and took the time to evaluate the event. See our ‘Speakers 2011′ page to view the videos of last year’s speeches.

Countess Markievicz – The historical perspective

Dr. Mary McAuliffe Historian, Women’s Studies, UCD

Dr. Sonja Tiernan University of Notre Dame

Women in Politics

Prof. Kathleen Lynch Equality Studies, UCD

Ailbhe Smyth Feminist Open Forum

Joan Collins T.D. Dublin South Central

Women and the Media

Margaret E. Ward Financial Journalist & Broadcaster

Helen McCormack Journalist & Radio Producer

Gender Quotas – Norway & Ireland

Arni Hole Director General Ministry for Children, Equality & Social Inclusion Norway

Siobhán O’ Donoghue Director, Migrant Rights Centre of Ireland

Mary Lou McDonald T.D. Dublin Central

Dr. Elaine Byrne Trinity College Dublin

Countess Markievicz School, Saturday 4th June 2011

Countess Markievicz Summer School — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 21:30:04 +0000

The Teachers’ Club, Parnell Sq., Dublin

‘If women remain on the margins of society, we only have marginal opportunities for making marginal change’, Maria Torres, Adult Literacy teacher, Equador

Concerned about the declining numbers of women in public and political life and inspired by a flippant comment, the Countess Markievicz School was born. In honour of Ireland’s first female MP and Cabinet Minister, the school is a discussion forum on women in Ireland, with a different topic addressed each year. This year’s theme is Women in Politics & the Media. We have invited a range of speakers from academia, politics and the media, to speak on June 4th. We invite you to join us for some lively debate to engage with the issues. A Q & A session will follow each panel discussion.

Speakers on the day….

Prof. Kathleen Lynch, Equality Studies, UCD

Margaret E. Ward, Financial Journalist & Broadcaster

Siobhán O’ Donoghue, Director, MRCI

Dr. Mary McAuliffe, Historian, Women’s Studies, UCD

Joan Collins, T.D., Dublin South Central

Helen McCormack, Journalist & Radio Producer

Arni Hole, Director General, Ministry for Children, Equality & Social Inclusion, Norway

Dr. Sonja Tiernan, University of Notre Dame

Ailbhe Smyth, Feminist Open Forum

Dr. Elaine Byrne, School of Politics, Trinity College

Mary Lou McDonald, T.D., Dublin Central