An Irishwoman's Diary Episode 6: The woman who gave us control of our fertility - May McGee

 Episode 6: May McGee, the woman who fought
to make contraception legal in Ireland


May McGee was a young, hearing-impaired mother to four children
under the age of two living in a caravan when she took the Irish
State to the Supreme Court challenging its position on
contraception, and won.


Complicated pregnancies including a stroke she suffered in one
meant that she was advised to take contraception by her doctor –
but the spermicidal jelly she ordered in the post was intercepted
by Customs and she and her husband were threatened with prison.
She was furious at the Government interfering in her private
life.


May, who died late in 2025, made it possible for Irish women to
plan their families and to take control of their own fertility.


To listen, find us wherever you get your podcasts.


‘It was one up for the women’: Mary ‘May’ McGee's family to
celebrate her life at funeral


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