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 who were otherwise ignored’. Another scholar, Yvonne Scannell, noted that de Valera’s views on women’s rights were ‘those of most people in Irish society at the time’.
