Sir, – Dr Gareth P Keeley's definition of Irish history (November 30th) is severely limited to what might be termed the public sphere, where women would freely admit that their ability to influence events was limited by factors including the denial of the parliamentary franchise until 1918.
Ireland’s history encompasses a much wider remit than the political past and women played a very significant role in Irish society and economy.
The 1881 census showed that more than 40 per cent of those employed in the dairy industry were female. Down to the present day the influence of women religious in Irish education is plain to see. These are merely two examples of how women have shaped the history of Ireland.
Irish women historians and feminists seek merely to write, not to rewrite, the past. Dr Keeley’s opinion indicates the extent of the task we face. – Yours, etc,
Dr MARIE COLEMAN,
School of History
and Anthropology,
Queen’s University,
Belfast.