When Was The Marriage Ban Lifted In Ireland?

The marriage bar in Ireland, introduced in the 1920s, prohibited married women from joining the civil service. It was eventually lifted in 1973 on the recommendation of the Commission on the Status of Women. Various women’s groups, including the Irish Housewives Association and the Irish Countrywomens Association, campaigned for its removal. The bar was later abolished in 1946 for the Home Civil Service and in 1973 for the Foreign Service.

The marriage bar was not abolished in most countries until the 1950s at the latest. In Ireland, the bar was only abolished in the 1950s, following the recommendation of the Commission on the Status of Women. In the Netherlands, the marriage bar was removed in 1957, in Australia in 1966, and in Ireland in 1973.

Ireland joined the European Union in 1973, the same year that the marriage bar was lifted. The bar was dropped in the public service and most semi-State agencies in December 1973, backdated to June 1973. By the time the marriage bar was lifted in teaching, approximately one-quarter of the teaching personnel in primary schools in Ireland were untrained, raising concerns regarding the quality of Ireland’s education system.

As the marriage bar’s longevity continues, there are fewer women affected by it, with women in 2022 needing to be at least 65 years of age to be subject to this form of discrimination. The notion of the male breadwinner persisted in Irish society after the marriage bar was lifted in 1973.

When was the marriage ban lifted in Ireland for teachers?

Abstract. In 1932, the Irish government, facing an economic downturn, introduced a marriage ban which required that female primary school teachers were required to resign on marriage. This followed a series of restrictive legislative measures adopted by Irish governments throughout the 1920s which sought to limit womens participation in public life and the public sector. Such a requirement emerged in several countries in response to high unemployment and applied principally to womens white-collar occupations, leading some commentators to argue that it stemmed from a social consensus rather than an economic rationale. Despite opposition to the ban from the Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO) on the basis that it was unconstitutional, would lead to fewer marriages and that married women were in fact more suited to teaching children, it remained in place until 1958. Although the ban is much referred to as part of the gender ideology that informed legislation in the early years of independent Ireland, the particular history of married women teachers has been little researched in the academic context. Over 50 years since the rescinding of the ban, this article examines its impact through an analysis of primary sources, including government cabinet minutes and the public commentary of the INTO and positions this history within the international context.

Empire settlement and single British women as New Zealand domestic servants during the 1920s.

Pickles K. Pickles K. N Z J Hist. 2001;35:22-44. N Z J Hist. 2001. PMID: 18268821 No abstract available.

When was the marriage bar lifted in the UK?

The marriage bar prohibited married women from joining the civil service, and required women civil servants to resign when they became married (unless granted a waiver). It was not abolished until October 1946 for the Home Civil Service and 1973 for the Foreign Service. A film by Alun Parry for the PCS union provides a revealing view of the frustration felt by many able women before the marriage bar was lifted.

I am very grateful to Sue Randall for sending me copies of two delicious letters to her grandmother, 33 year old Edith Mary Buckthorp, née Hollingworth, who married in 1938. The first (extract above) accepts her (forced) resignation. The second confirms her marriage gratuity. (The second letter also confirms return of Mrs Buckthorps marriage certificate which she in fact never received, to her considerable and lasting annoyance.)

A younger Edith Hollingworth is in this photo of the female staff of the Bolton Ministry of Labour taken around 1929. (Employment Exchanges had separate entrances and separate staffing for men and women well into the 1960s.)

When was the marriage bar abolished in Ireland?

“The marriage bar in the civil service ended in 1973 and in the wider public sector the following year. “However, the lump sum marriage gratuity payment of a months pay per year served would continue to be paid to civil and public servants who quit voluntarily when they married.

When was marriage Legalised in Ireland?

Same-sex marriage has been legal in Ireland since 16 November 2015.1 A referendum on 22 May 2015 amended the Constitution of Ireland to provide that marriage is recognised irrespective of the sex of the partners.2 The measure was signed into law by the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, as the Thirty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland on 29 August 2015.3 The Marriage Act 2015, passed by the Oireachtas on 22 October 2015 and signed into law by the Presidential Commission on 29 October 2015, gave legislative effect to the amendment.456 Same-sex marriages in Ireland began being recognised from 16 November 2015,7 and the first marriage ceremonies of same-sex couples in Ireland occurred the following day.8 Ireland was the eighteenth country in the world and the eleventh in Europe to allow same-sex couples to marry nationwide.

Civil partnerships, granted under the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010, gave same-sex couples rights and responsibilities similar, but not equal, to those of civil marriage.9 The 2011 Irish census revealed 143,600 cohabiting couples, up from 77,000 in 2002. This included 4,042 in same-sex relationships, up from 1,300.10.

Backgroundedit. Law Reform Commissionedit. In December 2000, as part of the Second Programme of Law Reform, the government requested the Law Reform Commission of Ireland to examine the rights and duties of cohabitees. In April 2004, the commission published a consultation paper with provisional recommendations on legal issues related to cohabiting relationships.111213 The report included an analysis of issues for same-sex couples. Following responses, the final report was launched in December 2006 by Justice Minister Michael McDowell.1415.

When did divorce in Ireland become legal?

The Fifteenth Amendment of the Constitution Act 1995 (previously bill no. 15 of 1995) is an amendment of the Constitution of Ireland which removed the constitutional prohibition on divorce, and allowed for the dissolution of a marriage provided specified conditions were satisfied. It was approved by referendum on 24 November 1995 and signed into law on 17 June 1996.

Backgroundedit. The Constitution of Ireland adopted in 1937 included a ban on divorce. An attempt by the Fine Gael–Labour Party government in 1986 to amend this provision was rejected in a referendum by 63.5% to 36.5%.

In 1989, the Dail passed the Judicial Separation and Family Law Reform Act, which allowed Irish courts to recognize legal separation. The government made other legislative changes to address the issues identified in that referendum campaign, including the social welfare and pension rights of divorced spouses, which were copper fastened, and the abolition of the status of illegitimacy to remove any distinction between the rights of the children of first and subsequent unions.1.

When was the marriage bar removed in Ireland?

The bar was eventually lifted in 1973 on the recommendation of theCommission on the Status of Women. Various womens groups including theIrish Housewives Association, the Irish Countrywomens Associationand theIrish Womens Liberation Movementhadcampaignedfor some time for its removal. Ultimately deemed illegal under European law, Ireland was one of the last countries to lift the ban.

Its end ushered in a new era of employment possibilities and pathways for women. Newspapers reported on new opportunities for married women in radiography, physiotherapy and a range of professions which had previously been governed by the bar. Reactions to the lifting of the bar were inevitably mixed, some predicting higher rates of unemployment for young people, others welcoming an end to the discrimination and loss of key talent. Furthermore,legislation introducing the concept of equal pay did not take effect until 1976, and marriage bars in the private sector were not fully outlawed until the introduction ofanti-discrimination legislation in 1977.

The impact of the bar on women affected is still felt to this day. In the 1960s and 1970s, women in the civil service were increasingly re-hired on temporary contracts after being forced to retire on marriage, a practicehighlightedbyMary Robinsonat the time of the rescinding of the ban. This practice led toless favourable terms and conditions of employment, as well asdiminished pension entitlements.

When was the marriage bar lifted in Canada?

In most countries, Marriage Bars were abolished in the 1950s at the latest. For example, the Marriage Bar was abolished in 1938 in New Zealand, in 1946 in the UK, in 1947 in the Netherlands and in 1955 in Canada.

When was the Marriage Bar introduced in Ireland?

The Government of Ireland introduced a Marriage Bar in the 1920s, first in the civil service. More specifically, the 1924 Civil Service Regulation Act stated that: …female civil servants holding established posts will be required on marriage to resign from the civil service.