An Irishwoman's Diary Episode 6: The woman who gave us control of our fertility - May McGee

The Deirdre O'Shaughnessy Podcast · Jan 4, 2026 · 24m

🎧 Episode 6: May McGee, the woman who fought to make contraception legal in IrelandMay McGee was a young, hearing-impaired mother to four children under the age of two living in a caravan when she took the Irish State to the Supreme Court challenging its position on contraception, and won.Complicated pregnancies including a stroke she suffered in one meant that she was advised to take contraception by her doctor – but the spermicidal jelly she ordered in the post was intercepted by Customs and she and her husband were threatened with prison. She was furious at the Government interfering in…