Director / Writer - Cogadh ar Mhná / A War on Women
1 x 50 min Documentary RTÉ and TG4
Cogadh Ar Mhná - A War on Women? is a new Irish language documentary that blows up the myth that sexual violence against women didn’t happen during the War of Independence and the Civil War and tells for the first time in their own words some of the stories of women who were victims of it.
It sheds new light on the Irish Revolution and points up the repeated silencing of women and their stories in Irish society – all through a new and unique production partnership backed jointly by TG4 and RTÉ with the support of the BAI.
Why is it that stories of sexual violence against women have never been part of the Irish War of Independence and the subsequent Civil War?
Why, when those stories have been such an integral part of every other war - World War One, World War Two and even the later Bosnian War - are these stories missing from the Irish Revolution? For years, Ireland has been seen as being exceptional in that these acts didn’t occur here. But was Ireland really so special? Was the nature of war here so very different from war everywhere else? And did our men really behave so well?
Based on new research coming to light, this documentary argues that the answer is no. No side of the conflict is exempt – Black and Tans, Republicans and Free Staters – there are stories of violence against women committed by them all.
It’s time to say the unsaid, to blow the lid off theses stories and leave behind the belief that Ireland’s wars were somehow exceptional and different – more honourable - than every other war. Cogadh ar Mhná / A War on Women? tells the truth about what happened to these women and argues that their voices should be heard and the wrongs of the past finally addressed.