Groundbreakers Series Two: Three documentaries that chart the life and work of older women who did not just live through a changing Ireland but who were the changemakers.

Three groundbreaking women have made positive changes in academia, engineering, the environment, and social justice. These women are known and highly regarded and loved within their area of expertise, but they are not known by the general public. We listen to their story, to celebrate them, to thank them for making Ireland a better place for us all.

Their lives tell the story of Ireland’s progression and change. One women’s story that brings us on an audio journey through the changes, over the last decades, to the issues she dedicated her life to. In Groundbreaker: Anita Hayes we explore the issues of seed sovereignty and biodiversity, in Groundbreaker: Mary Crilly we examine sexual violence and exploitation in Ireland and in Groundbreaker: Jane Grimson, we look at women in engineering and genderism in the workforce.

Warning: some readers/listeners may find this content upsetting

Mary Crilly is approaching her 40th year at the forefront of the Sexual Violence Centre Cork (SVCC). Her story traces the slowly changing attitude towards sexual violence against men and women in Ireland.

When Mary started the centre, Ireland was a place where a man could legally rape his wife, where domestic violence was often treated as a time-wasting nuisance and where any form of sexual assault or rape, no matter the victim’s age, status, or condition, was usually viewed as the woman’s fault. Marital rape only became a crime here in 1990; until then a husband could not be found guilty of the rape of his wife.

When they opened the centre, they were meet with hostility. Back then, what they were doing in the centre was not really accepted, they were told by many to pack up and stop what they were doing. But they held on and now 40 years on Mary would consider that they have made great progress in bringing sexual violence into the open, though she would reflect there is still a long way to go when it comes to victim blaming and protecting perpetrators. Crilly’s end goal is to work towards a society that does not tolerate sexual violence in any capacity.Mary’s mission is to keep the conversation going, because without this change will not happen.

If you have been affected by this, you can contact the Rape Crisis Centre on freephone 24-Hour National Helpline at 1800 77 8888.

Groundbreakers Series Two: Three documentaries that chart the life and work of older women who did not just live through a changing Ireland but who were the changemakers.

Three groundbreaking women have made positive changes in academia, engineering, the environment, and social justice. These women are known and highly regarded and loved within their area of expertise, but they are not known by the general public. We listen to their story, to celebrate them, to thank them for making Ireland a better place for us all.

Jane was the first female graduate in engineering in Trinity College Dublin (TCD). Being the only woman in the class, she was never expected to last. This was the 1960s, at a time when female engineers were almost unheard of, not just in Ireland but worldwide. Even now Engineering and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) struggle with gender bias. But in the 1960s, as a young woman, Jane sat as the lone female in a class of engineering students. But it never deterred her.

Jane went on to obtain a first-class honours degree and a Masters and PhD degrees in Computer Science in 1971 and 1981 respectively. She then went on to become Dean of Engineering and of Research. Throughout Professor Jane Grimson’s extraordinary career as an engineer she has achieved much and received many accolades. However, perhaps one of Jane’s most lasting legacies will be the hugely important role she has played as an advocate for women in engineering, science, and academia. She has mentored a generation of female engineers and is passionate about promoting the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women in STEM. As Provost and President of Trinity College Dublin Linda Doyle said ‘I would not be here without her”.

Their lives tell the story of Ireland’s progression and change. One women’s story that brings us on an audio journey through the changes, over the last decades, to the issues she dedicated her life to. In Groundbreaker: Anita Hayes we explore the issues of seed sovereignty and biodiversity, in Groundbreaker: Mary Crilly we examine sexual violence and exploitation in Ireland and in Groundbreaker: Jane Grimson, we look at women in engineering and genderism in the workforce.

Groundbreakers Series Two: Three documentaries that chart the life and work of older women who did not just live through a changing Ireland but who were the changemakers.

Three groundbreaking women have made positive changes in academia, engineering, the environment, and social justice. These women are known and highly regarded and loved within their area of expertise, but they are not known by the general public. We listen to their story, to celebrate them, to thank them for making Ireland a better place for us all.

Ground Breaker Anita Hayes centres on the life's work of Anita Hayes, who established Irish Seed Savers. She dedicated her life’s work to safeguard our future food crops by preserving the rich genetic diversity of the past, by creating a community of Seed Savers all over Ireland.

Anita founded the Irish Seed Savers in 1991 on a small farm in Co. Carlow. In 1996 the project moved to its present site in Scarriff and in 1997 a FAS community employment scheme secured a site and employment for many staff. It is now home to a seed bank containing more than 600 rare and endangered vegetable varieties, a native broadleaf woodland, and wildlife sanctuary. This provides a home for a thriving colony of heritage Irish black bees. Irish Seed Savers hold the national collection of Irish heritage apple trees in their orchards, numbering over 180+ varieties, as well as an orchard of over 33 self-rooting varieties of apple trees that require no grafting for propagation, the largest collection of this type of apple trees in the world. The genius of Irish Seed Savers is that the living ark of heritage crops is a much better way to preserve our horticultural heritage than in static seed banks, frozen in time and wrapped in cotton wool. The yearly renewed cultivation of these crops exposes them to the realities of climate change, to the evolution of circumstances in pest and diseases, and strengthens them to compete and thrive in the modern world and with them their heritage and stories.

Their lives tell the story of Ireland’s progression and change. One women’s story that brings us on an audio journey through the changes, over the last decades, to the issues she dedicated her life to. In Groundbreaker: Anita Hayes we explore the issues of seed sovereignty and biodiversity, in Groundbreaker: Mary Crilly we examine sexual violence and exploitation in Ireland and in Groundbreaker: Jane Grimson, we look at women in engineering and genderism in the workforce.