Celebrating and Acknowledging International Women’s Day 2025 at University College Cork

By Anna-Katharina Priesterath, News Editor

The days leading up to March 8, International Women’s Day, were filled with various events on campus of University College Cork. On Friday, March 7, Storybook - an event organized by Cork Migrant Centre in collaboration with Speak Out! Theatre for Transformation - vocalist Laoise Leary, Aatma Dance Troupe, African Queens, and Lavie took place in the Hub on campus for several hours.  

The event started in the Shtepps with a brief welcoming speech given by LAIT Coordinator Catherine Kennedy, followed by an outstanding performance of Speak Out! Theatre for Transformation that was directly connected to sentiments shared by the keynote speakers Mary Crilly, who is the Director at Sexual Violence Centre Cork, Eibhlin Gleeson, who is Chief Executive and Artistic Director at Cork Opera House, and businesswoman and CEO of Cognate Health, Paula Cogan. All three keynote speakers shared what being a woman and coming together for International Women’s Day means to them.  

The improv theatre performance following this emotional and vulnerable start into the event led to laughter, tears, and recognition. Women in the audience shared personal experiences of work-place discrimination, the struggles of coming to Ireland as migrant women, and the burnout that unfortunately is often not talked about enough that can be caused by fighting for feminist issues. The five performers were actively engaging with the audience, asking them to share feelings and stories and worked those into their play. It was incredible to see stories being reinterpreted and showcased within seconds. 

After the touching performance of Speak Out! Theatre for Transformation, the audience gathered for tea and coffee and exchanged their impressions of the program so far before listening to and watching the musical dance and singing performances of vocalist Laoise Leary, Lavie, African Queens and AATMA Dance Group. From singing guitar acoustic versions of popular English songs, to dancing Tamil dances, and celebrating African music, the diversity of the performers was engaging and simply beautiful.  

The event ended with the Human Library – a chance for the audience to engage with different speakers sharing their individual stories. Here, several women would sit in a circle and engage with one spokesperson. From businesswomen, to congresswomen, and professors, every woman shared her unique experiences and challenges. The result was engaging discussions and for the audience to ask any question they might have in an intimate setting. 

Overall, this event was a thought provoking and empowering opportunity for women to connect, embrace their individual paths, share their culture, music and art, and support each other. International Women’s Day is crucial in recognizing the individual challenges women are facing while realizing how similar so many of them are and that through coming together in community, power can shift, and empowerment can take place. 

The following day, Professor Maggie O’Neill hosted a Feminist Walk of Cork. The aim of this walk was to acknowledge feminist happenings and people of the past in Cork and to raise awareness for a city that is rich in history. Last fall, the Women’s Studies program in UCC participated in the walk and learned about the women in and of Cork. I reached out to Professor Maggie O’Neill to ask her about her experiences with the walk and the impact it has had.

Professor Maggie O’Neill

Beginning interview 

Anna-Katharina Priesterath: What effect has the walk had on you personally? 

Professor Maggie O’Neill: I have loved engaging and working in collaboration with so many fabulous women led community organisations who are walking the talk through their actions, activism advocacy  and feminisms - and working together to put so many great women into the topography of the city - they were there before but hidden- no monuments, two bridges 'Nano Nagle' and Mary Elmes, a plaque to Mother Jones and Annie Moore and more recently some wonderful Murals by the Ardu street project - and that is it. I also love working collectively to develop the walk with students, community partners and Conach Gibson. 

AKP: What kind of feedback have you received from participants?  

MO: We have had some lovely feedback -  moving, inspiring, the multi-perspectival storytelling that is has elicited knowledge and understanding in embodied, intersectional and spatial  ways and also that it is a great way of attuning to and learning about Cork City - the spaces and places , streets and laneways -  and the women led organisations that deliver such amazing work - that speak to feminist theory, politics and practice.    

AKP: And why do you think it’s important to keep organizing it? 

MO: For me it is about keeping open a space for understanding, envisioning and enacting feminisms  together with fantastic feminists doing such amazing work in Cork and student societies and undergraduate and postgraduate students - highlighting work that is based on an feminist ethic of care -  and that we need to work together to create change, foster fairer societies, address patriarchy in all its forms for all of us-our collective social futures. 

End of Interview 

You can find out more about the feminist walk here: The Walk | A Feminist Walk Of Cork 

International Women’s Day has been celebrated for over 100 years, and it is as relevant today as it has been over a century ago. Initiatives, such as the Feminist Walk, and events that bring women together are crucial in creating community, a sense of belonging and resistance to structures that are continuing to oppress women. International Women’s Day is only one day of the year, but the fight for women’s rights continues every day.