July 16th, 2006
Bridging the Gender gap
This week, a bridge in Paris was named after French writer and intellectual Simone De Beauvoir. According to this piece about Pont Simone de Beauvoir, critics claim that it “bears some resemblance to a discarded bra or an outstretched woman’s arm”.
While it’s timely to honour de Beauvoir in this way, it’s worth mentioning that there are 37 bridges in Paris - and this is the first one to be named after a woman.
Which got me thinking about the Liffey bridges. Of the 16 bridges spanning the river, none are named after women. In what seems like an act of regression, Island Bridge was once named Sarah Bridge, after Sarah, Countess of Westmoreland) and Mellows Bridge, the oldest bridge on the Liffey, used to be called Queen Maeve’s bridge, after Connaught’s Queen Maeve.
Why the gender gap in the numbers? Surely there are plenty of remarkable Irish women - and literary ones at that, seeing as Joyce and O’Casey have bagged their own bridges - who are worthy of this honour?
July 16th, 2006 at 11:18 am
I know what you mean. One of Irelands greatest patroits Countess Marchievs (can’t spell) has got nothing other then a gaa ground in Sligo named after her.
July 16th, 2006 at 1:00 pm
There’s a swimming pool and a park in Dublin named after Countess Markievicz, but she’s one of the few women to have ANY kind of public space or monument named after her.
It’s a disgrace!
July 16th, 2006 at 5:21 pm
The Irish Naval Service has eight ships, each named after a woman. Work to be done there, too, then.
July 16th, 2006 at 6:38 pm
its a wonderful looking bridge though, pullout picture in the english independent recently.
C
July 16th, 2006 at 7:16 pm
And am I wrong in saying there’s a statue of her on a street running parallel to Trinity’s left-hand side? That I can’t name the street and had to consider for a moment where it was probably says a lot about its prominence and potential audience.
If I ever have anything named after me, I’ll willingly swap it with Ms. Gore Booth’s swimming pool.
July 17th, 2006 at 11:54 am
With all due respect to the Irish navy, the ships are hardly monuments, let only ones that the public are aware of.
Fair play to the INS for the Aoife, the Ciara, etc, but it still doesn’t answer the answer of the lack of monuments to women in Ireland.
July 17th, 2006 at 1:00 pm
I believe that the maritine tradition is to name your boat as a female. Hence the LE Lassies.
Also, there is a nice Countess Markievicz bust in St Stephen’s Green.
I would agree that both female and male historical figures should be remembered but I suppose that will for the forseeable future mean that more men will be commemorated.
However, I’d be more concerned with the health and safety implications of designing a bridge after a discarded bra!
July 18th, 2006 at 10:15 am
you think to much
July 18th, 2006 at 5:12 pm
I believe that the maritine tradition is to name your boat as a female. Hence the LE Lassies.
No, it isn’t (hence abominations like the USS Ronald Reagan and USS George HW Bush, appropriately enough the first warships to run on the Spawn of Satan OS, Windows).
The deal with the ships is just an Irish Naval Service thing. The boats are just too small, and it would be slightly embarressing to have the memory of a patriot honoured by putting it on something not much bigger than a fishing trawler.
July 18th, 2006 at 6:26 pm
Then other then countess marcheivz what female needs honouring
July 19th, 2006 at 12:14 pm
How about Mary Harney bridge? Ah no, i agree, there is an obvious imbalance…
July 20th, 2006 at 11:44 am
Quite a lot, a few suggestions.
Mairead Corrigan and Betty Williams (nobel prize winners 1976).
Sister Sarah Clarke (prisoners rights in england). Maire Drumm ( a bit contravsel but even for helping people be resettled).
Eliza Hamilton Dunlop.
Maud Gonne.
Lady Gregory (recording our folklore).
Mary Harris (mother jones, miners/workers rights in america).
Caterine Hayes (opera singer http://www.catherinehayes.com/).
Betsy Gray (died in battle for irish freedom).
Eliza Alicia Lynch (hero of paraguay).
Catherine Elizabeth McAuley (founded the sisyers of mercy, helped the poor),
Helena Moloney (womens rights, women prisoners rights, workers rights),
Kate O’Brien (writer),
Grainne Ni Mhaille,
Rosemary Nelson,
Grace Gifford Plunkett (artist),
Margaret Skinnider,
Mary ward (science writer, also the first person to die in a car accident),
Lady Jane francesca Wilde,
Nano Nagle (pioneer of catholic girls education),
Mary Robinson,
Kathleen Lonsdale (Yardley) (famous irish scientist)
Susan Jocelyn Bell Burnell (discovered pulsars)
Mary, Countess of Rosse (photography pioneer)
Elizabeth Flynn
Margaret Sanger
Hanna Sheehy Skeffington
Agnes Mary Clerke (A Popular History of Astronomy 1985)
Lady Sophie Mary Heath (limerick pilot, pioneer, fought a commerical pilot licence ban for women. The first pilot ever, male or female, to fly a small, opencockpit plane solo from Cape Town to London).
Ladies of Llangollen (maybe