Farming women who went through a marital separation or divorce in the past 40 years are being invited to contribute to an oral history project being conducted at University College Cork.
Irish Farm Women’s Experiences of Marital Breakdown, Separation, and Divorce since 1986: An Oral History, is being led by PhD student Dan Joe Corkery at the School of History. Dan Joe is seeking contributions from women who went through marital breakdown after 1986, when the first referendum on divorce was defeated.
Participants are invited to share their experience in an initial conversation with Dan Joe, which will progress to an interview that will be used anonymously as part of the final oral history project.
Speaking to Irish Country Living, Dan Joe says he has been keen to record the experiences of farm women who took the decision to end their marriages at a time when it was strongly opposed by society.
“I am just about old enough to remember the 1986 referendum, and the catchphrase that was coined at the time, 'hello divorce, goodbye Daddy'," he says.
"In rural communities, that wasn’t quite as accurate as the sentiment was closer to, ‘hello divorce, goodbye farm’.
"I attended the Women & Agriculture conference and was impressed by the discussion on domestic abuse, which I would imagine was one of the factors for women who did opt to leave marriages in the 80s and 90s, even when divorce wasn’t available.
“But I’m hoping to reach as many women as possible who will be willing to share their experience.
“I’m from a farming background, so I do understand the circumstances around the role of women and I hope to bring that appreciation to the interviews I will conduct. There’s no ‘right’ kind of story here, but I’m hoping people will get in touch to have a chat with no obligation to go any further.”
For further information, contact Dan Joe at danjoe.corkery@umail.ucc.ie or call him on 085 2115824.
