during the campaign I captured and analysed
Many of these items visually evoke early 20th
emergent factual data for the event, including for
century feminist protest. There are, moreover, new
example the genders and ages of campaigners,
designs, for example Maser’s iconic Repeal logo,
and voting predictions for urban versus rural
now preserved in NMI as a handknitted banner. In
populations. Having gathered ephemera including
the future it will be used to illustrate the banning
leaflets and badges produced in the lead-up to the
of Campaign artwork from publicly-funded spaces,
Referendum, I began collecting in earnest on 26th
one of many stories of controversy surrounding
May 2018, on the morning after the vote was held.
the Referendum.
Given that its posters were already being removed, I was especially concerned to acquire the material
Objects that I collected from around the country
culture of the No campaigns and so, using social
represent the movement’s presence both in major
media, I sought the help of friends to collect them
cities and in rural communities. The ‘My Body, My
from their areas. Following this, through Twitter
Choice’ dress was paraded by its maker in Donegal,
on behalf of the National Museum of Ireland, I
the only constituency to vote against repealing
issued an appeal for banners from both sides of the
the amendment, as a banner on a mannequin.
debate. This elicited a huge response, making it
The ‘Roscommon Farmers For Yes’ family banner
clear that both individual and group campaigners
represents the county which voted against same-
strongly desired and supported the National
sex marriage equality in 2015 and in favour of
Museum’s collecting from the event. Soon I had a
abortion rights in 2018; it is therefore both a
wide range of material to represent diverse stories,
critical vehicle for interpreting change in Irish
that was truly a collection gathered by an engaged
social attitudes, and represents the participation
network of citizens, managed by a curator.
of men who campaigned for partners, family members, and friends.
The Museum could not accept all offers, and in order to avoid duplication and becoming
Some of the most moving material has come
overwhelmed with material, I selected items
from the Home to Vote and Be My Yes campaigns
to provide broad geographical and gender
in the UK and Ireland. These organizations
representation. I also made acquisitions that
provided young Irish citizens working abroad with
represented a range of social interests, including
information regarding their eligibility to vote,
those of individual campaigners, community
and encouraged them to make the journey home
group protesters and professional bodies;
to do so, just as similar organisations had done in
seeking material that evidenced a range of media
2015 for the referendum on marriage equality. The
platforms and artistic expression. In order to
London-Irish Abortion Rights campaign was key
collect a people’s history along with the material
in raising awareness through peaceful protest. In
culture, for every item acquired I recorded location
its 2016 March for Choice, 77 women to represent
used, creator and production details and how and
the 77 who had been travelling from Ireland to
why the creator had been motivated to produce the
England each week for an abortion, walked with
item in response to the Referendum.
wheeled suitcases through the streets of London to arrive in a silent protest outside the Irish Embassy.
The posters produced by campaign groups
One of these suitcases is now part of the NMI’s
illustrate the ideological platforms on which the
Repeal collection, a physical object to represent
debate was founded and contain the key symbols
both the protest movement and each of the 77
and arguments of both the Yes and No campaigns.
weekly women of whom there would otherwise
As no other banners or ephemera were offered
be no public record. These women’s airport signs
to the Museum to represent the No side of the
and boarding passes, which the Museum has also
debate, posters have become the primary form
collected, furthermore reflect the recent diaspora
of its representation within NMI. By comparison,
of Irish citizens, often young, who have been
the Yes campaign’s diversity and creativity
displaced by economic depression since 2007.
will be recalled through, in addition to printed posters, handmade banners, painted umbrellas,
Collecting the Repeal the 8th Movement has
and artworks, painstakingly created by women as
illuminated weaknesses in NMI’s collection,
individuals and as members of community groups.
including gaps in the representation of post-
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