Feminist walk of Cork celebrates trailblazing women

13 Aug 2024

• Feminist Walk of Cork explores rich contributions of women and women led organisations.
• Members of the public are invited to take a winding walk across Cork city.
• There are no monuments to women in Cork city; the walk writes women into the spaces and topography of the city.

The rich contributions of Traveller women, Cork Penny Dinners, Sexual Violence Centre Cork and Cork Alliance are the focus of a new walking tour through Cork City.

‘A Feminist Walk of Cork’ invites members of the public to discover the contributions of women and women-led organisations in building safe and fairer societies for all.

This walk entitled ‘Women, Confinement and Social Justice’ is the second walk in a series led by researchers at University College Cork in partnership with community organisations. The free maps and information booklets can be found on the Feminist Walk of Cork website.

Led by Professor Maggie O’Neill, ‘A Feminist Walk of Cork’ was devised with Masters in Women’s Studies and BA students in Sociology, Criminology and History at UCC College of Arts, Celtic Studies and Social Sciences who recognised the need to amply women’s voices and experiences in the public narrative of the city.

The new walk ‘Women, Confinement and Social Justice’ focuses on key historical sites and landmarks including Erinville Hospital and Cork City Courthouse. Each site is accompanied by commentary on trailblazing feminist movements, achievements, and challenges faced by women in their work to build safer, more inclusive societies.

“There are, at present, no monuments to women in Cork city. A plaque which honours rights activist Mother Jones is located on John Redmond Street near Shandon, and the Mary Elmes Bridge recognises the outstanding contributions of the Irish aid worker. Representations of women can be found in the Apple Seller (Fitzgerald Park), the Onion Seller (Coal Quay), the School Children (Shandon bells) and in streets named after Queens and Saints”, Professor Maggie O’Neill, Professor of Sociology and Criminology at University College Cork, and Director of UCC Futures – Collective Social Futures, and ISS21 Institute for Social Science in the 21st Century, said.

“If we look closely, there is evidence of women’s great work embedded in the topography of the city. Along this winding walk, we invite members of the public to discover and honour trailblazing feminists past and present in the context of history in the present. The walk explores the confinement, containment, and social control of women’s ‘risky’ bodies; the labelling, marginalisation and criminalisation of women who were deemed to transgress societal norms and expectations,” Professor Maggie O’Neill said.

Research on the move

Researchers at UCC College of Arts, Celtic Studies and Social Sciences and ISS21 Institute for Social Science in the 21st Century are investigating walking as teaching, learning, and pedagogic practice.

The ‘Feminist Walk of Cork’ project is supported by UCC College of Arts, Celtic Studies and Social Sciences through the Interdisciplinary Research Grant Fund. Conach Gibson-Feinblum was the project’s researcher, leading on archival, documentary and interview-based research, with support from Angela Flynn, Linda Connolly and Tom Spalding.

The UCC research builds upon the history of walking as a research method alongside participatory and biographical methods to teach sociology, criminology, women and gender studies in sensory and corporeal ways.

For more information about Feminist Walk Cork, please visit https://www.feministwalkcork.ie/