“You May Think We Are Too Straight-Laced …”: The Catholic Women’s Federation of Ireland, 1937–72

The Catholic Women’s Federation (CWF) does not feature frequently in the historiography of female associational culture in independent Ireland, but it had quite a large and robust membership for many years, which was made up primarily of graduates from prominent Catholic girls’ secondary schools, such as the Dominican and Holy Faith schools. Founded in 1937, the CWF’s objectives were ‘the promotion and fostering of Catholic action particularly in the sphere of family and of education’, and ‘varied voluntary social activities and social services throughout the country.’ Professor Mary Hayden was an early member, as she was President of the Dominican Union until her death in 1942.

Some of the Federation’s activities included the organisation of ‘Working-girls Clubs [sic]’ in Dublin, where cooking, sewing, singing and dancing were taught’. These clubs, primarily in inner-city areas, had approximately 400 members in 1939.

The CWF applied unsuccessfully to become a nominating body for the cultural and educational panel of the Seanad in 1938, and again in 1954. The applications to the Seanad were made on the basis that the CWF was an ideal representative body for women in the home. They also gave evidence ‘on the rights of homemakers’ to the Commission on Vocational Organisation (CVO) in 1942 and enacted various public and private campaigns relating to the persecution of Catholics abroad, the performance of perceived ‘indecent’ plays at the Olympia and the advertisement of swimwear by Irish manufacturers. This paper situates the CWF within the wider community of women’s groups during this period, placing their activities and views in context. It is argued that considering their preoccupation with vocationalism and censorship, the CWF can be considered as a crucial part of the wider Irish Catholic action movement as well as the female associational community in Ireland.