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A LIGHT FESTIVAL to celebrate iconic Irish women throughout history is set to launch today on Dame Street in Dublin.
The light projection festival, called HerStory, is set to take place over the next four days to coincide with Nollaig na mBan, or Women’s Little Christmas.
Its first light projection on Dame Street will feature figures such as female pilot Lady Mary Heath, astronomer Agnes Clerke, St Brigid and mathematician and computer programmer Kay McNulty.
herstory / TwitterJoin us for #IlluminateHerstory as we light up the country with images of women on Nollaig na mBan (5-8th Jan 2017) https://t.co/PTq4Rvu2bN pic.twitter.com/0exYMMYbgt
— HerstoryIreland (@HerstoryIreland) November 20, 2016
The organisers for Illuminate HerStory said that county and city councils across the country have commissioned light installations and events across the four days.
Homes, town squares, theatres, libraries, museums and iconic buildings are set to feature the iconic women from Ireland’s history between today and Sunday across all four provinces.
herstory / TwitterCalling Dublin! Join us today at 4.45pm for the unveil of the #IlluminateHerstory installation at Palace Street Offices, beside City Hall pic.twitter.com/zfiBNAbf5K
— HerstoryIreland (@HerstoryIreland) January 5, 2017
HerStory founder and director, Melanie Lynch, said: “In the dark month of January we chose the theme of light. We want to start the year with optimism and hope, as we strive for equality for all.
The Irish are known as the best storytellers in the world, but until now we have only told half the story. Illuminate Herstory is an event for the people, and it’s really easy to get involved and pay tribute to the women you love.
Lynch added that anyone can get involved across the country over the next few days. All they need is a projector and a collection of photos to showcase the women they want to celebrate. More info on HerStory can be found here.
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Sounds like a nice idea. But it’s not like there’s a concerted effort to white wash women’s achievements in history. There are plenty of incredible people who aren’t widely known today. I’d imagine the lack of rights held by women historical also contributed to their general lack of ability to influence history. Hence why men are more prominent figures. I suppose that makes the women who did achieve greatness all the more inspiring.
@Awkward Seal: It’s not as though male astronomers, pilots or mathematicians are well-represented in Irish celebrations of the past. We prefer to reserve street-naming for politicians and soldiers, groups that historically under-represented women. I’m actually all for celebrating the achievements of the individuals named here, but in the same way that I wish we did more to remember Parsons, Hamilton, Boole and Stokes.
Yeah that’s a good point. Most people could name three Kardashians before they could name three noble prize winners.
@Chris Mansfield: every computer and every Google search and most aspects if mathematical logic are a testament to George Boole. I’m nit sure that I would classify George Boole as Irish even though the last part of his career was spent as a Professir of Mathematics in UCC.
The majority trying to be the minority once again
Boo-hoo, Imnotrodten…boo-hoo!
We should remember that when people, female or male, make exceptional contributions, all of us, both male and female, potentially benefit.
Ah here we go, more men bashing…said some poor disenfranchised white bloke on here.
@Tony Daly: This is equivalent to responding “All lives matter” when someone says “black lives matter.”
If initiatives like this encourage more talented young women to make their full mark, then it is useful and valuable.
I confess that none of the names were familiar to me and so it has proven already informative to me. I need to explore this further.
I’m just wondering how they manage to be both forgotten (as the headline says) AND iconic (as per the first line of the story).
A wonderful initiative, with the added bonus of incensing the Alt-Right Snowflake Brigade (ARSB).
Lets hope they include Ashbourne Annie..just to see the embarrassed head on Kelly and Brutal..
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