Conclusions: Whither the Women’s Movement?

Abstract

Revealing the project of feminist social change can expand our understanding of the way in which contemporary Ireland has developed and changed, over time. The empirical task of theorising movement processes at the meso level of social analysis addresses substantial inaccuracies informing existing interpretations of Irish feminist activism and provides a basis for acknowledging further the role of a multifaceted and decentred women’s movement in subverting the modernisation process of Irish society. In general, the significant transformation that has occurred in Irish women’s lives has generated change across society as a whole. In this light, this conclusion asks what challenges does this analysis pose to contemporary understandings of feminism and the relationship between social movements, modernity and change? What kind of effect has the women’s movement had, in the Irish context?