Clodagh Finn: Women’s voices are still not being heard in the public domain Holly Cairns, Cork South West TD marked tone year since the 2020 general election by observing that there are 18 TDs for Cork, but only one of them herself is a woman. Picture: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin
Wed, 10 Feb, 2021 - 06:29
There is a very long tradition of silencing women in public. Professor Mary Beard makes that point wonderfully when she traces the origins of telling women to shut up, as she bluntly puts it, right back to the Odyssey , Homer’s epic poem of antiquity.
The shushing of a woman or, at the very least, an early example of mansplaining is right there at the start of Western literature as the hero’s loyal wife is firmly put back in her place.
In May 2018, then Taoiseach Leo Varadkar stood in the Dáil and pledged that no more of the women who had been betrayed by the State in the Cervical Check scandal would be forced to go to court to seek justice.
Last week, not for the first time, that promise was shown to be utterly worthless when, racked by emotion, mum-of-two Lynsey Bennett addressed the media outside the High Court.
Ms Bennett – who had been described in the court as ‘a person of great courage’ – had just settled her action against the HSE.
The young mother tearfully described how the end of her “big battle” with the State, the HSE and the State Claims Agency would finally allow her to focus on her fight to stay alive.
Labour leader Alan Kelly: Why are brave women like Lynsey Bennett still being dragged through the courts? Why is this Government continuing to treat women like this?
The video will auto-play soon8Cancel
Play now
Get the latest news from across Ireland straight to your inbox every single dayInvalid EmailSomething went wrong, please try again later.
Sign up!
When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Your information will be used in accordance with ourPrivacy Notice.
Thank you for subscribingWe have more newslettersShow meSee ourprivacy notice Why are women like Lynsey Bennett still being dragged through the courts? How many more times will we have to watch women walking out of the High Court after finally reaching a settlement over Cervical Check failures?
A unique portrait of Vicky Phelan has sold for €46,500, raising valuable funds for healthcare workers.
The painting was bought by a family friend of the Cervical Check campaigner after being donated to charity Heroes Aid by the artist.
All funds from the sale will be donated to the charity, of which Ms Phelan is a patient advocate.
Last month, the Kilkenny native unveiled the painting on RTÉ’s Late Late Show.
The painting was bought by a family friend of the Cervical Check campaigner after being donated to charity Heroes Aid by the artist
Painted by Co. Offaly artist Vincent Devine, the artwork tells the story of Ms Phelan’s life in three panels.