Rose Comiskey‘s new book Acts Of Defiance documents pivotal activist moments in a rapidly changing Irish society.
If there is one thing to take away from activist photographer Rose Comiskey’s new book, Acts of Defiance, it is that presence is vital. Presence of a camera to point and shoot, presence of people on the street to fight tooth and nail for what they believe in, and presence of this collection of images on the shelves.
As with all historical events, precisely when you begin telling the story matters. Rose’s photographs document protests organised and executed by activist groups and collective movements from 1984 to 1992, a bold and emotionally charged period in Ireland’s recent history.
This period is comprised of a state in both political and social turmoil – in some ways on the cusp of modernisation, in others, humiliated by the shackles of outdated political thinking.
“They kept [the protests] in the news. The media were always there,” Rose notes, on the significance of activism on the ground, “And the government was embarrassed by it.”
The ageing rule of Church and State, amicably intertwined with one another, was in denial of an increasing societal rejection of their oppressive and unequal system. Revised ideas of youth, empowerment and identity began to circulate from the 1970s onwards, when groups such as the Irish Women’s Liberation Movement were formed.
Once given a space to make manifest, a spirit of rage and passion codified these dynamic activist movements, formulating their own ideas of liberation and equality from the ground up.
In 1983, the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution Act was approved and signed into law, marking the beginning of a deeply divisive campaign concerning women’s bodily autonomy. The Eighth Amendment banned not only abortion but also made it illegal to give out information about abortion clinics.
Acts of Defiance displays evocative imagery from the Post-referendum solidarity marches that took place in the early 1980s. Some are brandishing large signs, some are pushing their children in strollers – all can be seen marching alongside one another.
In 1984, Ronald Regan visited Ireland in search of his Irish ancestry. While mystified by the charm of Irish nature, the Republican US president was snapped back into the disparate reality of Irish public opinion by crowds booing during his speech at the Dáil. 33 women were arrested for their participation in movements against Reagan’s visit, with the book containing a testimony from one of the women who was detained without cause.
“We organised like our lives depended on it,” her testimony states, “And, for most of us, at that time, it felt like it did.”
1984 also saw the beginning of the Dunnes Stores strike against the sale of goods from South Africa, which developed into a three-year-long boycott, spearheaded by the defiance and unionisation of supermarket workers, who put their livelihoods and careers at risk in protest against the abhorrent nature of Apartheid. The Irish government eventually resorted to banning the sale of fresh produce from South Africa in 1987.
While these events, along with other marches documented in the collection, seem distant from one another in practice, they symbolise something more significant than their singular occurrences when presented alongside each other. Collectively, they possess a spirit of resilience and defiance – the chants of a rising counter-current to the political agenda of the time.
Without the curious, creative eye of Rose and her dedicated developmental work in DIY dark rooms, these women, their testimonies and their presence at protests in this period in modern Irish history would be in danger of falling through the cracks, swallowed into the cyclone of a forgotten age.
“Wherever I lived, I would set up a dark room,” Rose reflects, “It was primitive. I had learnt how to do my own printing. I loved film, and I always have a yen to go back to it.”
During her early days of street photography, Rose worked at the Print Co-op of the Dublin Resource Centre, a run-down but vital hub located at Crow Street in Temple Bar, set up by volunteers. It was here that protests were organised, information was distributed, and flyers, posters, and magazines were produced. In the face of attempts at silencing the voices of dissent, DIY magazines became all the more important for disseminating information.
“We brought out a women’s magazine,” Rose says, on her involvement with the feminist newsletter Round Up. “It was a very simple, rudimentary thing. We brought it out once a week or once a fortnight. That was how you got stuff around. Newspapers and magazines were being taken off the shelves in shops.”
Rose possessed a keen eye for shots that not only documented the protests but also displayed the collective spirit and passion of the various movements. Her street photography evolved with the movements themselves.
“I can’t call myself a photojournalist,” she says modestly, “That’s not really how I saw myself. I didn’t go out and get a great shot and then go to the newspapers with them. I tended to photograph all aspects.”
“You’ll find in the book that there are a lot of photographs that wouldn’t be used in a newspaper, but they show a great camaraderie within the women’s movement.”
The direct personal testimonies – outlining women’s memories of their time within various movements and marches covered in Acts of Defiance – complement Rose’s black and white photographs perfectly. They give life and movement to Rose’s still shots, a taster of the individual voices behind each movement, their backgrounds, and a wider contextual reflection on the great effort of organisation and personal sacrifices that went into each march.
Contributors talk of finding their tribe within DIY collective groups, such as in the Dublin Resource Centre and the Women’s Information Network, tracing their earliest introductions to activism. Physical locations for meet-ups cultivated a buzzing political awakening nestled in various premises in the heart of Dublin City.
What is most striking from the photographs of these turbulent years is that the women on the streets are ordinary. Ordinary in their role as housewife, student, mother or caregiver- extraordinary in their commitment to show up fearlessly in the act of protest.
The testimonies of the exceptional individuals in Acts of Defiance show that they were never discouraged by defeat. Rose seconds this with unparalleled vigour. “Don’t give up,” she urges, as a takeaway from the book, “It is important to be out there.”
The photographs in Acts of Defiance display a glimpse into the tireless organisation and dissemination of information that took place behind the scenes to ensure that there would be strength in numbers at each march. Pictorial evidence of the feats that can be achieved by collective organisation is, now more than ever, vitally important. This era of Irish history is not only one to be documented, but one to be learned from, built on, and one to be inspired by.
“History must be written and recorded,” Rose affirms, “It must not just be archived, but it also must be there, readily available.”
Though these photographs are historical artefacts, they are also powerful testaments to the unfettered energy of the women who took to the streets, and a reminder that the need for protest persists. If anything, it has gotten stronger.
“On paper, we lost every battle, but it never felt like that,” one testimony in Act of Defiance notes, “Wreaking havoc is essential. Winning anything is a bonus.”
Words: Leanne Gleeson
Acts of Defiance is available to purchase from hitonebooks.ie, with a limited run of 300 copies. Hi Tone Books is a publisher of high-quality books on Irish popular culture and photography, run by Dubliners Garry O’Neill and Niall McCormack.
