Rummaging in the Attic: Queer Memories and Enduring Activism in the Attic Press/Róisín Conroy Collection

Abstract

ABSTRACT: This hybrid narrative-historical essay relates the legacy of late-twentieth-century Irish women’s activism as it is documented through the Attic Press/Róisín Conroy Collection (RCC) housed at University College Cork, Ireland. While much of the historical discussion about this era of women’s activism focuses on the Irish Women’s Liberation Movement, in this essay, the author makes the case that the RCC actively presences Irish lesbian women’s activism. The essay highlights specific items in the archive which particularly emphasize the more mundane tasks required to power an enduring social justice movement because these actions are often overlooked in preference for the more obvious public-facing elements of activism. Throughout the piece, the author reflects on her position as an activist and scholar from outside of Ireland in relation to the archive and more recent demonstrations of Irish feminist activism. Ultimately, the history of Irish women’s and lesbian activism as documented by the RCC reminds readers of the need for collaboration and collective rage, thought, and pain. In the post-COVID-19 era, activists will be re-visioning the way they connect, share, care, and fight for justice.