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Jan 2, 2022 9 tweets 11 min read Read on X
Louisa Westropp (born 1858), following a marriage characterised by constant domestic violence, sued her husband for divorce on the grounds of cruelty. Before Irish independence, cruelty was, in theory, legal grounds for divorce.....
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..... but men were considered to have the right to physically 'chastise' their wives, as women at that time had few rights (including the right to custody of their own children) cruelty was almost never cited in #divorce proceedings.
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It was the first time an #Irish #woman sued her husband for divorce on grounds of cruelty, and it set a legal precedent. Terrible as things were for Louisa, they were much worse for women from less wealthy backgrounds.
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At least she could afford to pay a #divorce #lawyer, and knew that she would be financially solvent after divorce. For many #women, staying with a violent, abusive spouse was their only option.
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#Women in #Ireland could not obtain barring orders on the basis of #domesticviolence until 1976, and there was no #divorce in independent Ireland until 1996. For decades, domestic violence, including #rape within #marriage, was effectively legal.
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#IrishWomenInHistory
While, of course, both #women and #men can be violent and abusive to their spouses, women are significantly more vulnerable to physical abuse, because they are typically smaller and less strong than their male partners.
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#IrishWomenInHistory #NollaigNamBan
Women are also often especially vulnerable to physical abuse when they are #pregnant, or caring for small #children; as males do not get pregnant, this is a vulnerability unique to females.
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While women today have many more rights than they did in Louisa's time, domestic violence remains a significant problem in #Ireland today. Hopefully, one day #women will no longer need the shelters from domestic violence that are still so crucial.
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#IrishWomenInHistory
Louisa was a pioneer in her time, & thousands of women have fought for women's rights in marriage over the years that followed.

We've not been able to find a photograph of Louisa Westropp. If anyone can help with this, please get in touch.
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More from @IrishWomenin

Jan 1, 2022
Françoise Henry was born in Paris in 1902 & grew up in #France, where she studied art & archaeology. She came to Ireland in 1926 to research her thesis on Irish medieval carving, & became deeply fascinated with early Christian #Irish stonework and art.
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From 1932 - 1974, Françoise worked for @ucddublin, during which time she published a number of major works on Irish art from the prehistoric period to mediaeval times.
2/5
#IrishWomenInHistory #NollaigNamBan #Art #Archaeology Image
Her work helped to raise awareness of the richness of this artistic tradition and laid the ground for future researchers in the field. Françoise went on to become the Director of Studies in #archaeology and the #history of #European #painting.
3/5
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Read 5 tweets
Dec 31, 2021
On #NollaigNamBan we'll be raising a glass/cup of tea to all the women we've featured this year, to honour their victories and challenges as well as their long and short lives. What will you do? Here's a thread with some ideas.
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#IrishWomenInHistory Image
1) If you have children in your life, you could spend some time with them telling stories about your and/or their female ancestors. Keeping their stories alive in the most traditional of Irish ways; through storytelling.
2/7
#NollaigNamBan #IrishWomenInHistory Image
2) If you're on your own, maybe take some time to reflect on your own female ancestors - do you know much about them? What pieces of stories are missing and why? Is there some research you'd like to do to know more about them?
3/7
#IrishWomenInHistory #NollaigNamBan Image
Read 7 tweets

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