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Witness History: Women invade Dublin's male-only swimming spot

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Women invade Dublin's male-only swimming spot

25/08/2023 GMT

BBC World Service - Witness History, Women invade Dublin's male-only swimming spot

In 1974, women campaigned to swim at the Forty Foot in Dublin, Ireland

Women fought for their right to Dublin's male-only swimming spot, the Forty Foot, in 1974. For years, male swimmers had told women they couldn't swim off the Irish beach.

The Forty Foot is a famous sea swimming spot in Ireland’s capital city of Dublin. For hundreds of years, only men had the privilege of bathing in its deep, icy waters – naked if they chose. 

That was until one day in the summer of 1974, when a group of women decided to plot an invasion. 

At a time when Irish women couldn’t even access contraception, why did this group of hardy feminists decide to fight this particular battle for equality? 

Rosie Blunt speaks to poet, writer, women’s rights activist, and swimmer Mary Dorcey.

(Photo: Woman diving at the Forty Foot in 2019. Credit: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

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