TRIBUTES have been paid across Ireland following the death of Mary “May” McGee, the woman whose courage and determination helped overturn the country’s decades-long ban on contraception.
McGee, a mother of four from County Dublin, died peacefully in hospital this week.
Her landmark Supreme Court victory in 1973 became one of the most influential legal decisions in modern Ireland, paving the way for reproductive rights and greater personal freedoms.
In the early 1970s, McGee and her husband, Séamus, found themselves caught between medical issues and the law.
After suffering health complications during her pregnancies, which included a near-fatal stroke, her doctor warned that another pregnancy could prove deadly.
He advised her to use contraception, but Ireland’s 1935 law made the sale and importation of contraceptives illegal.
Desperate to follow her doctor’s advice, the couple ordered a diaphragm and spermicide from Britain.
When customs officials seized the package and warned them of potential prosecution, McGee refused to back down.
“I was livid that somebody in government could tell us how to live our lives,” she later said in an interview.
With the help of their GP, Dr James Loughran, and the Irish Family Planning Association, the McGees brought a groundbreaking case before the Irish courts.
Although initially dismissed by the High Court, their appeal to the Supreme Court led to a historic victory.
In December 1973, four of the five judges ruled that married couples had a constitutional right to privacy in marital matters, including contraception, free from state interference.
The decision was hailed internationally as a turning point for Ireland.
Messages of support flooded in from across the globe, including from the World Health Organization.
But at home the couple faced condemnation from conservative and religious quarters.
They eventually left their parish after being criticised by their local priest for bringing disrepute to the Church.
Despite the backlash, the McGee ruling forced the Irish government to begin dismantling long-standing restrictions on reproductive health.
Legal experts have described the case as one of the Supreme Court’s most consequential judgements.
Justice Gerard Hogan once called it “the legal equivalent of the moon landing”, marking a decisive break from Ireland’s rigid moral codes of the time.
McGee’s courage left a lasting mark on Irish society.
Her son Darren described her as “amazing” and his father as “a very modern man in a very backward time”.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio’s Liveline, he said his mother believed deeply that “the Church shouldn’t have that power or autonomy over people’s decisions in life.”
Writers, historians and campaigners have also paid tribute.
Author Fintan O’Toole called her “one of the heroines of modern Ireland”, while historian Laura Kelly described her as “a courageous woman whose impact on Irish life cannot be overstated”.
A celebration of her life will be held at Dardistown Crematorium on Saturday, where mourners have been asked to wear bright colours in her honour.
See More: Contraception, Mary McGee, Reproductive Rights
