2014 is nearly at an end, which has got us feeling all nostalgic for the year that was. And here are some awesome women - and one glamorous queen - who rocked the boat and inspired us in 2014.
Ireland has some brilliant disability rights activists, but one of the most compelling voices is that of Joanne O'Riordan, the teenager born with the rare condition Total Amelia, which means she has no arms or legs. She's addressed the UN and been the star of a documentary called No Limbs, No Limits and this year she won a prestigious scholarship to study at UCC, where she has begun a degree in criminology. When she got her college place, she told the Irish Independent that
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I want people to know and understand that education is a way to a better life. Education should be inclusive and open to all abilities. We need to invest in our future because our future is the key to our success as a country. [UCC] have gone the extra mile in adapting the house I will live in. They are making the environment in which I will study more accessible. I hope that these changes will not only help me but others like me. Today is not just a good day for people with disabilities, it’s a great day.
Go on Joanne! And good luck at college.
Catherine Corless made headlines around the world when her research unearthed evidence of the appallingly high death rate of children resident in a Tuam 'mother and baby home run by the Bon Secours nuns. The infant mortality rate of children born outside marriage in the 1930s was five times higher than children born to married parents, leading Fianna Fáil TD Dr Conn Ward to tell the Dail in 1934 that “From the abnormally high death rate amongst this class of children one must come to the conclusion that they are not looked after with the same care and attention as that given to ordinary children.”
The children in Tuam died of illnesses commonly linked to neglect and malnutrition, and as for what happened to their bodies, we still don't know exactly, as no excavations have been made, but this week it was announced that the Bon Secours nuns will be ordered to hand over their records to an official enquiry. So thanks to the dogged determination of Catherine Corless, the full truth about what happened in Tuam may finally come out.
Louise McSharry is a smart, funny radio presenter, and one of RTE's brightest young stars. In August listeners were shocked and moved when the 31 year old broadcaster announced on Ryan Tubridy's show that she had been diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Several months into her treatment, Louise has been documenting her experiences with typical wit, grace and heart showing other people struggling with illness that they're not alone. And though it's hardly the most important thing about her, she looks like a warrior princess. Get well soon, Louise. You're brilliant.
When Aisling Bea won the So You Think You're Funny? award at the Edinburgh festival in 2012, she was the first woman to do so in twenty years (TWENTY YEARS). And the comedian born Aisling O'Sullivan has really broken through this year, filming not one but two British TV shows (Trollied and Delivery Man). The BBC Radio 4 series she co-wrote and performed with fellow Irish comic lady Yasmine Akram, Irish Micks and Legends, has been recommissioned for another series. The more funny Irish women taking centre stage, the better!
And an honorary mention goes to the Queen of Ireland, national treasure Miss Panti Bliss. After a group of people who constantly advocate against equal rights for gay people objected to Panti's alter-ego Rory O'Neill implying they were homophobic on RTE's Saturday Night Show, and got paid €85,000 in compensation, there was a public outcry - and when Panti took to the stage of the Abbey Theatre to deliver a stunning speech about the limitations homophobia enforces on gay people's daily lives, she became an international sensation. #TeamPanti forever!
These are just a handful of the many very different ladies who made a splash in 2014. So who would you like the nominate as a woman of the year?
