THE CHANGING EXPERIENCE OF WOMEN IN 20TH-CENTURY IRELAND
23 Analysing Sources – Cover and Photograph
2. To whom is the cover appealing? 3. How effective is the cover?
Historical judgement
1. What is the message of the cover of the Irish Women’s Liberation Movement publication?
A publication of the Irish Women’s Liberation Movement (1971)
Members of the Irish Women’s Liberation Movement on the platform of Connolly Station, Dublin in 1971 on their return from Belfast after buying contraceptives there, which were illegal in the Republic of Ireland
1. What advantages (strengths) and disadvantages (weaknesses, limitations) of the use of photographs as historical sources can be seen in this photograph? Which are the strengths and which are the weaknesses? (See p. 9) ● Captures a moment in time ● Shows the atmosphere/excitement of the time ● Without a caption or other information, it is difficult to be certain what the photograph is about
● Shows emotions of people involved ● Shows detail of everyday life that might not be available in a written account, e.g. clothes, hair styles of the time
● The photographer could be biased ● The photograph could be set up ● The photograph could be used for propaganda ● Shows what people worked at
2. What is the message of the photograph?
3. Suggest an alternative caption for the photograph to show how it is important to know the context of what happened before and after the photograph.