Nick Maxwell Women’s opposition to the 1937 Constitution. By Joyce Padbury The women’s campaign against the 1937 Constitution was a short and, in the end, unsuccessful intervention in a major political debate, though it did initially achieve amendments to some provisions of the draft document. The campaign is worth remembering as a lively articulation of feminist opinion … Read more
In an era of conservatism and economic depression, emphasis on the role of women in the home was not peculiar to Ireland. Moreover, Prof. Mary Daly has commented that, at a time when the majority of women were based in the home, the constitution can be viewed as ‘giving status to many members of society … Read more
While recent attention has naturally focused on the significance of the Act for the extension of the franchise to women, this was only one of its provisions. By Brian Walker The Representation of the People Act brought in a number of changes to electoral laws that had an important effect on the 1918 general election. … Read more
Harry Grattan Guinness’s journey from preaching to politics. By Catherine Guinness Henry Grattan Guinness is a charismatic figure well known to many, a leader of the evangelical revival of the mid-nineteenth century, an eschatologist and founder of a faith mission group, the Regions Beyond Missionary Union. A grandson of Arthur Guinness, he took a very … Read more
A most telling story is that of William M. Morrison of the American Southern Presbyterian Mission. Morrison and his colleague William Shepherd were witnesses to a brutal massacre in the Kasai region. Morrison sent a report to his US headquarters, but was reminded that he ‘must observe all proper deference to the powers that be … Read more