When Oonah Keogh’s stockbroking centenary comes around in 2025, Clodagh Finn hopes we won’t still be having the same conversation around enabling women to work as equals
By Siobhan Peters, Contributor
On paper, the 1916 Proclamation and the 1922 Constitution of the Irish Free State appeared to signal a new beginning in regards to equal opportunities for Irish men and women. However, the socio-political landscape of 1920s Ireland remained one of restriction for women. Religated to roles as housewives and mothers excluded from employment within the public sphere, any gains made by women in the changing political environment of the time were ultimately constricted by the colluding forces of the new Free State government and the Roman Catholic Church.
And yet it was an anti-discriminatory provision of the Irish Free State Constitution that allowed one woman, Oonagh Keogh, to become the first female member of the Irish Stock Exchange (ISE) and the first woman worldwide to join a stock exchange. Article 3 of the 1922 Free State Constitution guaranteed equality and opportunity to all Irish citizens over the age of 21, so Oonagh’s application could no