Groundbreaking journalist, playwright and author Nell McCafferty – who passed away in August – will be remembered next month by friends and fans at a special tribute commemoration evening in Dublin.
On Monday November 18th, her friends will gather in the Round Room of the Mansion House to celebrate her life, work and legacy with a special evening of songs, readings and recordings of her media appearances over her lifetime. All are welcome. The event which will be hosted by broadcaster Olivia O’Leary is free but ticketed.
A collection of friends, fans and peers from across her life will gather to read some of her incredible work. These include activists Eamonn McCann, Bernadette McAliskey, Ailbhe Smyth, journalists and writers Una Mullally, Evelyn Conlan, Muire McCallion (niece), Martina Devlin, poet Paula Meehan, trailblazer and filmmaker Lelia Doolan, filmmaker Margo Harkin and more. Music will be performed by the incomparable Mary Coughlan.
Lifelong friend and event organiser Marie Redmond said: “This is a public celebration of Nell. As well as being an extraordinary talent and activist, in over 50 years of friendship she taught me about being open, honest and forthright and to always speak the truth. Nell has the respect of thousands of people in Ireland and beyond, and I wanted to create an opportunity for us to come together to celebrate the uniquely brilliant talent and person that she was and the impact of her work for the women of Ireland. She was honest, fearless and kind, generous, witty and warm and she changed the very fabric of the Ireland of her time.”
Nell McCafferty lived in Dublin from 1970 but always remained a loyal Bogsider, proud of her roots. With a career spanning 50 years, her legacy of work is extraordinary with books including A Woman to Blame, In the Eyes of the Law, Peggy Deery and Nell an Autobiography.
Her ground-breaking writings on the treatment of those with little resources by the courts exposed the injustices of Irish society and the class discrimination that existed in the Irish legal system.
Her dear friend Eamonn McCann described her as ‘an instinctual socialist’. She was kind and generous to those in need and a loyal friend always. She changed the position of women in the workplace and in the home and fought for equal pay and rights for women. She spoke truth to power, without a thought of the personal consequences.
Nell McCafferty was a trailblazer, a role model and an icon for generations of Irish feminists with a powerful legacy for us to follow.
