LAST UPDATE | 21 Aug

JOURNALIST, AUTHOR AND feminist activist Nell McCafferty has died at the age of 80.

McCafferty worked as a journalist for The Irish Times, The Irish Press, Hotpress and a number of other publications. She was known for her writing on social justice, women’s issues and poverty. 

The Lord Mayor of Dublin, James Geoghegan, today opened a Book of Condolence for the people of Dublin to extend their sympathies to the family of McCafferty. 

The Book of Condolence will be available to sign at the Mansion House until 5pm today, and from 10am to 5pm tomorrow.

It is also available to sign online and this online version opened today and will remain open until Sunday 1 September, 2024 on the Dublin City Council website.

McCafferty was born in Derry in 1944 to Hugh and Lily McCafferty and grew up in the Bogside area. 

After finishing secondary school, she went on to study Arts at Queen’s University in Belfast, where she discovered her passion for writing.

She began her career in journalism in her 20s after first working as a teacher. She was a frequent contributor on Irish TV and radio. 

She was a founding member of the Irish Women’s Liberation Movement in 1970. 

McCafferty was probably best known for her coverage of the Kerry Babies case, which she collected in a book titled ‘A Woman to Blame’. She also wrote the books ‘Nell’, ‘In the Eyes of the Law’ and ‘The Best of Nell’.

She also led a high-profile protest action in 1971 known as the Contraception Train, when feminists brought condoms bought in Northern Ireland down to Dublin, where they were illegal, and declared them to customs agents in Connolly Station.

In 2016, she received an honorary doctorate of literature from University College Cork marking “her unparalleled contribution to Irish public life over many decades and her powerful voice in movements that have had a transformative impact in Irish society”.

In March of this year, on McCafferty’s 80th birthday, President Michael D Higgins praised her “curiosity that was ethical and fearless on the side of those without power” in an article in The Irish Times. 

‘One of the most renowned journalists in the country’

The Taoiseach Simon Harris spoke of the “great sadness” upon learning this morning of McCafferty’s death.

“Nell was fierce, fearless and fiery”, he continued.  “If she was in the room or in the debate, you knew about it. Her passion and wrath was not scattergun, it had a laser-like focus on calling out inequality and injustice.

“She suffered no fools but had a kindness and warmth for many. Her wit and Derry turn of phrase made her impossible to ignore”.

“As one of the women who took the train in 1971, she set in train an unstoppable wave for equality and a changing of Ireland for the better. That change has not yet reached its conclusion but it would be nowhere if it wasn’t for warriors like Nell.

In an Ireland trying to emerge from the shadows and find who it was, Nell McCafferty was one of the people who knew exactly who she was and wasn’t afraid to enter every battle for gay and women’s rights. We all owe her a great debt for this.

Nell McCafferty left Ireland a much better place than she found it and she played her part with spirit and style”.

President Michael D. Higgins joined the Taoiseach in paying tribute to McCafferty, calling her “a pioneer in raising those searching questions which could be asked, but which had been buried, hidden or neglected”.

“Nell had a unique gift in stirring people’s consciousness, and this made her advocacy formidable on behalf of those who had been excluded from society. A defining feature across Nell’s life was such a fierce drive to tackle repression, poverty and authoritarianism wherever she saw it”, he continued.

Higgins added: “Sabina and myself were privileged to be friends of Nell and to have experienced her enduring strength, courage, warmth and humour. She will be deeply missed by us all”.

A statement from McCafferty’s family to the PA news agency concluded with ‘Goodnight Sisters’ – the phrase she used to sign off at the end of TV appearances and also the title of two volumes of her writings.

“There aren’t words to convey the emotion that we feel at the loss of Our Nell,” said the family.

“We are humbled and comforted by the outpouring of love, respect and admiration on this rainy August day.

“We once again rely on the woman herself to express the depth of our feelings in just two words: Goodnight Sisters.”

Elsewhere, Labour leader Ivana Bacik described McCafferty as a “wonderful, fearless and unique feminist icon”.

Bacik said it was an “honour and a privilege to have known Nell, and to have had such fun with her over the years”. 

Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns meanwhile said “we need more Nells” in paying tribute to McCafferty. 

Cairns said McCafferty was a “champion for victims of patriarchal conservatism – women, the LGBT community and disadvantaged communities”.

“With wit and fierce bravery, she exposed abuse, prejudice and hypocrisy,” said Cairns.

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonaldsaid McCafferty “worked every day to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable”.

“Most often, the powerful didn’t like it. That’s how she knew she was doing the right thing,” said the Sinn Féin leader.

The National Union of Journalists also paid tribute to McCafferty, with Irish Secretary Séamus Dooley extending sympathy to her family and friends.

“With the death of Nell McCafferty, a bright light has been extinguished”, he said.

“She was one of the most renowned journalists in the country as a reporter, columnist, author and broadcaster.

“The public recognised in her a deep commitment to social justice. The fact that she was so often referred to only by her first name is a reflection of her special place in Irish journalism and in the public consciousness”.

Nell McCafferty could be hilariously funny, frequently controversial and delighted in being contrary,” Dooley continued.

“She was never afraid to challenge the consensus and took pleasure in afflicting the comfortable. Throughout her career, Nell blazed a trail for feminists and played a significant role in the development of the feminist movement in Ireland. Always provocative, Nell had the ability to trenchantly argue her case with unique style.”

Dooley added, “as a journalist, Nell may be best remembered for her pioneering work in covering the district courts, opening the windows into a world which was unfamiliar to many readers of the Irish Times.

The National Women’s Council joined those paying tribute saying “we are indebted to Nell. She was completely unafraid to name injustice wherever she saw it, and at times she was deeply unpopular for it. But her work paid dividends.

“Nell, and many others like her, helped shape the Ireland we live in today – a country which is more equal, less ashamed, and where women are freer to live the lives we deserve. We send our deepest sympathies to Nell’s loved ones at this sad time”.

“Nell was the very definition of a fearless feminist throughout her life, and the positive impact she has had on the lives of women today cannot be overstated”, they continued.