Edana Flynn

It was the ARC March for Choice in 2018, we arrived early in Dublin and headed to where breakfast was generously being provided to those marching to the Dáil. 

As I sat down, I nodded at the woman across from me, she smiled and she rolled her eyes and told me “I was doing this in ‘83 and I’m back from Thailand to do it again” she then told me she was here with her two daughters and she was marching for them because they had established their lives here in Ireland. She expressed that she hoped this would be the last time she was marching because she was sick of it. I don’t think I will ever forget her, she was in her 70s and she was witty and so wise.

I saw ‘Misbehaviour’ recently and thought of her as the film was based on the Women’s Liberation movement 50 years ago. As I watched and observed the people and attitudes these women were up against it made me think of Repeal.

As a young woman, marching with women who’ve ferociously paved the way for my generation and many more to come makes me emotional. The determination and strength it must have taken to get us to this point is something I cannot thank the older generations of feminists enough for.
Marching with you was an honour, having the right to choose and to pursue what I want to in life is something I have you to thank for, you taught us what it means to care and to persevere.

Repeal brought together generations of people to fight for reproductive rights and to meet the people who have fought since 1983 was something I will never forget because the result meant so much more.