'Repeal the Eighth and Reproductive Rights' collection published on DRI

On Nollaig Na mBan, a day Irish people traditionally celebrate the work of women, we are delighted to announce the publication of a new collection which contains 25 interviews with Repeal the Eighth activists. It captures the considerable work they did, physical, mental, and emotional, in the years leading up to the Repeal the Eighth Referendum. These voices have been archived so that others, here and internationally, now and in the future, can listen and learn from these women who successfully changed Ireland's constitution. Lead researchers, Dr Aileen O'Carroll (MU) and Dr David Landy (TCD), said:

'Too often the voice of the volunteer is minimised in the historical accounts of social change. We encourage all other researchers, and all other activists to consider archiving their work. Together we can save, share, and amplify these voices.'

Those who are teaching social research methods will also find these interviews to be a valuable resource, particularly as now it is difficult for students to conduct their own qualitative interviews. Researcher on the project Dr Máire Ni Mhórdha (MU) said 'I hope other social movement researchers will find that these interviews complement their own field research'.

The dataset contains thematic collections of interview extracts which can be used in a workshop setting. The training resources are on the topics of ‘alliances’ and ‘building groups’ and consist of interview extracts and audio clips.

The interviews were conducted as part of a project that looked at how organisations build trust and resolve conflicts in the age of social media. We looked at how in the Repeal campaign, digital tools were used to organise and build up the campaign, develop coalitions and connections, and also how the campaign dealt with the inevitable conflict that all movements have to handle. Three project reports which address these issues have also been archived.

The project was funded by the Irish Research Council (IRC) and sponsored by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC).

The full collection is available here