Women excluded from Army for 50 years despite role in 1916 uprising

Despite the role women played in the 1916 Rising, Irish women were to remain largely excluded from the Army for a further half century until 1977, when the Department of Defence decided to form a "Women's Service Corps" (WSC). This was to be an all-female corps - a separate entity from the regular army.

The military authorities duly convened a "committee on the establishment of a women's service corps". When the committee - consisting entirely of male officers - furnished its report in 1978, its recommendations raised eyebrows in the government at the time. On the question of pay, the committee stated: "After full consideration of the matter, the majority of our members recommend that the basic rates of pay to members of the WSC should be less than those payable to men."

On the question of pregnancy, the committee went on to state: "We are aware that pregnancy is not a ground for termination of service in the Ban Garda or the public service in general. Nevertheless . . . we recommend that pregnancy should be included as a reason for automatic termination of the service of members - for both officers and other ranks."

However, equality legislation enacted in the State during that period put paid to these plans, and the WSC was never established. Instead, women were recruited for general service to the Defence Forces in 1980. The initial intake of female officer cadets was sent to Sandhurst Military Academy in Britain for training. The second intake of female officers was trained in the Army's military college in the Curragh camp. After some initial teething problems - the female cadets were taught dress and deportment and given make-up lessons instead of heavy weapons training - the military training became more and more integrated.

With the election of Mary Robinson as president - and commander in chief of the Defence Forces - in 1990, a number of significant obstacles to women's fullest participation melted away because of necessity and the requirement for a higher public profile for female troops.

Men and women in today's Defence Forces train and serve together in a more integrated environment. At 3 per cent of strength, however, the quota of serving women remains very low by international standards. With an average of 15 per cent of strength throughout members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and as high as 25 per cent in the US military, Minister for Defence Willie O'Dea is set to introduce new measures this year to encourage female recruitment here.