Ireland's Constitutional Conundrum: A Look at Historical Sexist Laws and Upcoming Referendum

DUBLIN – A recent online video has shed light on the historical legal discrimination against women embedded within Ireland's constitution and laws, sparking renewed discussion ahead of a scheduled referendum on March 8, 2024. The video details how Article 41.2 of the 1937 Irish Constitution, which remains in effect today, proclaimed that the Irish State would "endeavor to ensure that mothers shall not be obliged by economic necessity to engage in labor to the neglect of their duties in the home." This article defined family based on marriage, effectively making Irish women the legal property of their husbands and designating the man as the head of the household, preventing state interference with his wife and children, who were considered his dependents. The video further explains that welfare payments were directed solely to men, even for women who were eligible, and married women were not entitled to their own payments if a man was present in the home. It also highlighted the "marriage bar," a practice from the 1920s to 1973, which legally required Irish women in public jobs to resign upon marriage. Private companies also adopted this practice. Other significant historical restrictions include the inability of married Irish women to own property until 1957, with any property they did own automatically transferring to their husband upon marriage. Married women also lacked legal guardianship rights over their children until 1964. Furthermore, birth control remained illegal for Irish women until 1979, becoming available only to married couples and requiring a prescription until 1985. The upcoming referendum aims to delete and replace Article 41.2, expanding the definition of family beyond marriage and addressing some of these long-standing constitutional provisions.