The Women's Podcast

The Women's Podcast


Ep 503 The 8th: documenting a defining moment in Irish history

May 24, 2021

It’s three years since the referendum to repeal the Eighth Amendment was passed by a landslide on May 25th 2018. Now, film directors Aideen Kane, Lucy Kennedy and Maeve O’Boyle are releasing their documentary, The 8th, about that defining moment in Irish history. With footage gathered over a three-year period, The 8th brings us voices from both sides of the referendum campaign. It takes us behind the scenes of the Together for Yes campaign with co-leader, Ailbhe Smyth, and follows self-described glitter activist and co-presenter of the podcast Don’t Stop Repealin’, Andrea Horan, as they chart a bold strategy of grassroots activism. In today’s episode, Róisín talks to Ailbhe Smyth and to The 8th director, Lucy Kennedy, looking back at a campaign that brought about a monumental change in Ireland’s abortion laws after a 35-year long struggle.

The 8th is released on video-on-demand in Ireland and the UK on 25 May, to coincide with the third anniversary of the referendum.