National Women’s Council pays tribute to Nell McCafferty

Published: Wednesday, August 21, 2024

The National Women’s Council extends our deepest sympathies to the family, friends, and loved ones of Nell McCafferty on her death today.

We are all indebted to Nell. She was unafraid to name injustice wherever she saw it, and at times she was deeply unpopular for it. But her work paid dividends. Nell, and many others like her, helped shape the Ireland we live in today – a country which is more equal, less ashamed, and where women are freer to live the lives we deserve. We send our deepest sympathies to Nell’s loved ones at this sad time.

Nell was the very definition of a fearless feminist throughout her life, and the positive impact she has had on the lives of women today cannot be overstated. As a founding member of the Irish Women’s Liberation Movement, she achieved huge gains for women in the area of equal pay, availability of contraception, and supports for lone parents. Famously, she travelled to Belfast on the contraception train and distributed condoms to the people of Dublin on her return.

As a proud Derry woman and civil rights activist, Nell made sure the conflict and experiences of women in the North were not ignored across the island. She was a lifelong anti-poverty campaigner, and her journalism covering issues in the Courts revealed a keen understanding of the impact of poverty and inequality on people’s lives. Her book ‘A Woman to Blame’ on the Kerry Babies case laid bare the misogyny at the heart of that case, one which became emblematic of the way women were treated in Ireland of the late twentieth century.

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For more information, please contact Sinéad Nolan, NWC Communications and Social Media Coordinator, 085 8619087 or sineadn@nwci.ie

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About NWC

The National Women’s Council is the leading national representative organisation for women and women’s groups in Ireland, founded in 1973. We have over 190 member groups and a large and growing community of individual supporters.

The ambition of the National Women’s Council is an Ireland where every woman enjoys true equality and no woman is left behind. This ambition shapes and informs our work, and, with our living values, how we work.

We are a movement-building organisation rooted in our membership, working on the whole island of Ireland. We are also part of the international movement to protect and advance women’s and girls’ rights. Our purpose is to lead action for the achievement of women’s and girls’ equality through mobilising, influencing, and building solidarity. Find out more on www.nwci.ie