Ag Ceiliúradh Deich mBliana de Mhúscailt na bhFeimineach
Thug an feachtas a bhain le Múscailt na bhFeimineach (MNF), ar cuireadh tús leis in Samhain 2015, léargas ar neamhionannas inscne ar fud earnáil amharclannaíochta na hÉireann agus a spreag gluaiseacht a bhfuil tionchar aici fós ar shaol cultúrtha sa lá atá inniu ann.
Chun an 10 gcuimhneachán tábhachtach seo a cheiliúradh, tá Leabharlann Náisiúnta na hÉireann (NLI) ríméadach rogha grianghraf ó Bhailiúchán Mhúscailt na bhFeimineach, a cuireadh i gcatalóg le déanaí, a roinnt. Léiríonn an rogha, a forbraíodh agus comhoibriú i dteannta comhordaitheoir an fheachtais Lian Bell, na príomheachtraí a tharla sa ghluaiseacht, idir na chéad slógaí agus imeachtaí Amharclann na Mainistreach agus an pobal ealaíontóirí, gníomhaithe, agus lucht féachana a tháinig le chéile ar son an chomhionannais.
Deich mBliana d’Athrú agus de Mhachnamh
Thosaigh an NLI ag fáil Bhailiúchán Mhúscailt na bhFeimineach in 2019. Thar na blianta, tá obair déanta ag an Leabharlann i dteannta Lian Bell agus lucht tacaíochta an fheachtais chun an taifead físiúil agus téacsúil den ghluaiseacht chinniúnach seo a chaomhnú. Bailiúchán digiteach is ea é a bhfuil grianghraif agus cáipéisíocht ann a léiríonn fás agus tionchar an fheachtais, chomh maith leis an tuarascáil Is Tábhachtach an Inscne a d’eascair ón togra.
"Is deas an rud na híomhánna seo a fheiceáil agus iad caomhnaithe agus curtha ar fáil don phobal," arsa Della Keating ón bhfoireann Bailiúchán Digiteach. "Léirítear sna híomhánna an mothúchán agus an ábhar lom a insíonn an scéal, scéal nach mbaineann le gluaiseacht chumhachtach amháin, ach scéal pobail atá tiomanta le go mbeadh chomhionannas agus ionchuimsitheach sna healaíona."
Buaicphointí ón mBailiúchán
Roghnaíodh na híomhánna chun an 10 gcuimhneachán a cheiliúradh i ndiaidh chomhoibriú idir Lian Bell agus foireann Bailiúchán Digiteach an NLI. Níl iontu ach cuid bheag de Bhailiúchán Mhúscailt na bhFeimineach an-mhór agus atá á phróiseáil faoi láthair.
Áirítear sa rogha:
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An phostáil bhunaidh Facebook a ghríosaigh an comhrá maidir le comhionannas ban in amharclannaíocht na hÉireann.
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Grianghraf a tógadh roimh an gcéad chruinniú pobail, ceann a tógadh de thaisme ach a raibh tábhacht shiombalach leis.
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An ghairm ghrianghraf aitheanta sin taobh amuigh d’Amharclann na Mainistreach roimh an gcruinniú sin.
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Cruinnithe réigiúnacha de mhná a bhí ag obair sna healaíona agus in amharclannaíocht i nGaillimh agus i Luimneach le haghaidh Nollaig na mBan, Eanáir 2016.
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Dearadh muga nár táirgeadh, agus a scéal cúlra leis.
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An dara hollchruinniú d’fheachtasóirí san Earrach, 2016.
Is cuid den scéal iad na himeachtaí sin idir bheag agus mhór araon, scéal feachtais nár mhair i bhfad, ar thug gnáthdhaoine faoi agus a raibh aird an náisiúin air agus a chabhraigh le cruth nua a chur ar amharclannaíocht na hÉireann.
Four of the lead researchers at the launch of Gender Counts in June 2017, the groundbreaking study on gender in Irish theatre conducted by #WakingTheFeminists. It established clearly the (in some cases profound) inequality present in Irish theatre, and set a baseline against which all future research can be measured. Gender Counts was funded in part by the Arts Council, but the vast majority of work by the six lead researchers was voluntary. Pictured are Dr Ciara O’Dowd, Dr Brenda Donohue, Dr Tanya Dean, and Ciara Murphy. Photo: Kate Horgan
Photocall on the Rosie Hackett Bridge in Dublin featuring all the speakers for One Thing More at the Abbey Theatre on 14 November 2016. One Thing More was the closing event of the campaign, almost exactly a year after it began, where the core group formally handed responsibility for gender equality back to the theatre community. It was followed that afternoon by an unprecidented meeting of theatre organisations and funders to discuss how they would take on the responsibility for achieving gender equality. That meeting led to, amongst other things, the Gender Equality Policy Working Group being formed, where ten major organisations met for over a year to plan their first ever equality policies, which were published in 2018, changing Irish theatre fundamentally. Photo: Kate Horgan
Placard made by Tara Derrington for the first public meeting at the Abbey Theatre, 12 November 2015 saying 'Where are the DISAPPEARED women of the arts?... At the school gates now'. Tara Derrington went on to be a founding member of Mothers Artists Makers (MAMs), a grassroots support community for parenting artists.
Core team member Sarah Durcan speaking at the second public meeting in Liberty Hall on International Women's Day. She and Dr Brenda Donohue gave a presentation about unconsious bias (which was a new concept to many people at the time) and the need for research into gender in Irish theatre. Sarah, with Lian Bell, recently published the definitive book about the campaign titled WTF HAPPENED. Photo: Kate Horgan
Women working in theatre and the arts in Galway gather for Nollaig na mBan 2016 at Tigh Neachtain. Organised by feminists across the country (and internationally) on 6 January, the self-organised Nollaig na mBan/Women's Christmas events were a way for the grassroots supporters of #WakingTheFeminists to gather, discuss, and celebrate the movement, wherever they were based. On the far right of the photograph, holding the final S, is Ionia Ní Chróinín of Moonfish Theatre who gave a speech in Irish at the first #WakingTheFeminists public event at the Abbey. Photo: John Rogers
Actor Pom Boyd brought her own WTF? placard to the Abbey Theatre before the first major public event, 12 November 2015. It's hard to convey the hightened energy of the day - such joy, anger, excitement, and hope among a group of people of all ages who felt they were finally taking their place, and being listened to. The name #WakingTheFeminists was a happy accident: Lian Bell, in the first hours of the social media storm, needed a hashtag to mark tweets with. At the time many people were making fun of the Abbey Theatre's male-focussed programme called Waking The Nation which had been the catalyst for the movement; one theatre director, Maeve Stone, had tweeted 'Waking The Feminists', and Lian decided quickly to use that as a hashtag. It was only days later when someone pointed out that it was also, aptly, WTF. Photo: Tamara Him
Playwright Kate Heffernan speedily designed badges that were handed out at the first public meeting. The bold design quickly became the logo of the campaign. To help raise funds to cover some of the campaign's costs, Kate later went on to design mugs and tote bags. This is a mug design that didn't get made. Playing on the infamous tweet by Fiach MacCongail, Director of the Abbey, to defend his lack of women artists in the theatre's 2016 programme which said "sometimes plays and ideas that we have commissioned by and about women just don’t work out. That has happened. Them the breaks." At the time that Kate designed this, the campaign was still at a precarious moment and we were carefully watching every move we made, so some of the core group decided that it was still a little too soon to poke fun - which is a pity.
In New York, the night before the first major public meeting on 12 November 2016, Irish playwright Lisa Tierney Kehoe (left) spotted Meryl Streep at an event and managed to get this photograph with her and fellow actors Christine Baranski and Laoisa Sexton. When Lisa shared it on social media, the attention given to #WakingTheFeminists by media in Ireland and internationally skyrocketed, instantly giving the campain more visibility and more power. Lisa went on to become the 'New York chapter' of #WakingTheFeminists, making connections and putting pressure on from across the Atlantic. Photo: Lisa Tierney Kehoe
From the first few days of the movement, #WakingTheFeminists supporters used their networks around the world to get 'famous faces' to tweet a photograph of support; the Irish film and theatre community are very well networked. One of the first international tweets of support came from actor Rose Byrne; this may have been the work of actor Brían F O'Byrne who was in LA at the time and very active in drumming up support for the movement. As the photos of support piled in, more attention was paid to #WakingTheFeminists by media, nationally and internationally, giving the campaign more power to put more pressure on the Abbey Theatre and other theatre organisations to make significant and lasting changes to the way they worked.
The iconic photograph outside the Abbey Theatre just before the first public meeting on 12 November 2015 showing a large crowd of women who work in all aspects of theatre, on and off-stage. The banner was made overnight by design student Molly O'Cathain and is now part of the National Museum of Ireland's #WakingTheFeminists collection. This photo has been used in numerous publications since that day, and a limited print edition was sold to raise funds for the campaign. It is now on the cover of 'WTF HAPPENED: #WakingTheFeminists and the Movement That Changed Irish Theatre', the book about the campaign by Sarah Durcan with Lian Bell, published by UCD Press in 2025. Photo: Fiona Morgan
Rochtain a fháil ar an mBailiúchán
I mBailiúchán Mhúscailt na bhFeimineach ón gcartlann dhigiteach, léirítear an tréimhse bheoga seo trí ghrianghraif agus trí cháipéisíocht, ní amháin go bhfuil an feachtas é féin á chaomhnú ach an díospóireacht chultúrtha níos leithne fós a spreag sé.
Is féidir breathnú ar rogha na ngrianghraf ar chatalóg na Leabharlainne: Bailiúchán Mhúscailt na bhFeimineach.
Chomh maith leis sin, is féidir teacht ar an leagan cartlannaithe de shuíomh gréasáin an fheachtais ar an gCartlann Ghréasáin, ina léirítear an scéal ó mhí Eanáir 2019 go dtí ní na Samhna 2024 a chinntíonn go mbeidh fáil ar ghuthanna, radharcanna, agus oidhreacht dhigiteach na gluaiseachta le haghaidh na glúnta atá le teacht.
Ag Leanúint den Díospóireacht
Tá an cuimhneachán seo buailte linn nuair a bhíonn scéal an fheachtais fós á insint. Seoladh leabhar nua a scríobh Sarah Durcan agus Lian Bell WTF HAPPENED: #WakingTheFeminists and the Movement That Changed Irish Theatre, a bhfuil taifead ann de ghluaiseacht Mhúscailt na bhFeimineach, ag an NLI ar an 8 Deireadh Fómhair 2025, agus cuireann sé tuilleadh le ról na Leabharlainne mar chaomhnóir staire cultúrtha comhaimseartha.
Dr Audrey Whitty, Sarah Durcan and Lian Bell at the launch of WTF Happened at the NLI. Photo: Mark Stedman
Sarah Durcan and Lian Bell at the National Library of Ireland. Photo: Mark Stedman
Bígí linn agus deich mbliana de #WakingTheFeminists a cheiliúradh, gluaiseacht a spreagann comhráite faoi chomhionannas, faoi ionadaíocht agus faoi chruthaitheacht go fóill in Éirinn agus níos faide i gcéin.
Tuilleadh
