Irish Women's Prison Writing: Mother Ireland's Rebels, 1960s-2010s

This book explores 50 years of Irish womens prison writing,1960s–2010s,connecting the work of women leaders and writers in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. It analyzes political communiqués, petitions, news coverage, prison files, personal letters, poetry, and short prose, highlighting the personal correspondence, auto/biographical narratives, and poetry of key women. It argues that womens lives and words offer a different view of gender and nation and offer a fuller and more inclusive archive of Irish history and literature. It also highlights the politics of everyday life and cultural work as a form of anti-colonial civil rights feminism.

Format: Hardback
Length: 200 pages
Publication date: 16 November 2022
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

This book delves into a comprehensive exploration of 50 years of Irish women's prison writing, spanning from the 1960s to the 2010s, by examining the work of influential female leaders and writers in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. Through a meticulous analysis of a diverse range of sources, including political communiqués, petitions, news coverage, prison files, personal letters, poetry, and short prose, this volume sheds light on the personal correspondence, auto/biographical narratives, and poetic expressions of a select group of key women. These women include Bernadette McAliskey, Eileen Hickey, Mairéad Farrell, Síle Darragh, Ella ODwyer, Martina Anderson, Dolours Price, Marian McGlinchey (formerly Marian Price), Áine and Eibhlín Nic Giolla Easpaig (Ann and Eileen Gillespie), Roseleen Walsh, and Margaretta DArcy.

By drawing upon various fields and discourses, this text aims to reimagine gender and genre as fundamental components of an interdisciplinary and intersectional prison archive. It specifically focuses on Irish women's prison writings to challenge the canonization of history and literature, arguing that the lives and words of these women offer a distinct perspective on gender and nation, as well as provide a more comprehensive and inclusive account of Irish history and literature. Moreover, this book highlights the political activism and cultural work of these women as a form of anti-colonial civil rights feminism, as they speak truth to power in a world that values compliance and silence.

Overall, this text aims to reexamine and re-cast women's voices and words to document and advocate for the ongoing Irish freedom struggle from an abolitionist feminist perspective. It seeks to amplify the narratives of these women and their contributions to the struggle for justice and equality, recognizing their resilience and determination in the face of adversity.

Weight: 550g
Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032103525