Mayo woman features in documentary on female couples at core of revolution

CROÍTHE Radacacha (Radical Hearts) is a feature documentary about ‘the love that dares not speak its name’ - found at the very heart of the Irish revolution, airing on TG4 on December 6 at 9.30 p.m.

Director Ciara Hyland explores the hidden stories of eight female couples who were at the core of the Irish revolution that freed Ireland from the British Empire. These women's relationships have largely remained unexamined, denied and hidden from history - until now.

It features women such as Kathleen Lynn from north Mayo, Margaret Skinnider, Eva Gore Booth, and many more.

These women were extraordinary in the lives they lived - they were radical in their politics, in their feminism, their socialism and their devotion to freedom and equality. Together they reimagined a new Ireland that would hold a brighter future for all regardless of gender, background or wealth. In this they have much in common with today’s activist generation who make similar demands for equality and an end to discrimination.

In the end, many of them picked up a gun and went and fought for that freedom and equality. They suffered huge losses but ultimately lived life on their own terms - where the personal was political and their private lives were as radical as their public.

Based on groundbreaking research by historian Mary McAuliffe, this is also the story of 'doing gay history' - the difficulties of finding evidence of love that by necessity had to fly under the radar, the glimpses we get of how people lived in the past and the burden of proof placed on examining gay relationships. In doing so, Radical Hearts rewrites the contribution of LGBTQ+ people back into the history of the creation of the modern Irish state.

Croíthe Radacacha features tracks by the Pillow Queens and Elaine Mai who kindly supported the film because they believed in the message of inclusivity that is at the core of it. Croíthe also features original music by composer Darren Sheehan.

Croíthe Radacacha was commissioned by TG4 and supported by Coimisiún na Meán with funding from the Television Licence Fee.

The couples featured in the documentary include: Eva Gore Booth and Esther Roper, Elizabeth O'Farrell and Julia Grenan, Helena Molony and Evelyn (Eveleen) O’Brien, Margaret Skinnider and Nora O’Keeffe, Kathleen O’Brennan and Marie Equi, Kathleen Lynn and Madeline Ffrench-Mullen, Louie Bennet and Helen Chenevix.