I was a pariah denounced by bishops from pulpits Mary tells series of contraception fight
about challenging the contraception ban in the courts.
In archive footage from the 1970s, she revealed: “I’ve already had a stroke and after the twins, the last birth, I was very ill.
“I was having problems with pregnancies, pre-eclampsia, strokes so I couldn’t take the pill. “I found out about the coil but to make it 100% I had to have
spermicide cream. I had to send away for it. The first time my order was stopped by Customs.
“That was when I decided to do something.”
The series looks at Irish women’s lives since winning the vote 100 years ago with contributions from historian Catherine Corless and journalist Justine Mccarthy, whose sister had to give her baby up for adoption.
It also tells the story of Julia Carter Devaney, who spent the first 45 years of her life as an unpaid domestic in the notorious Tuam mother and baby home.
Urging women to assert themselves, Mrs Robinson added: “Don’t be afraid to interrupt. That’s what a girl needs to know.”
No Country For Women airs on RTE One on Tuesday and Wednesday at 9.35pm.
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