New Documentary Sheds Light on Hidden Sexual Violence of the Irish Revolution

Cogadh ar Mhná is a new TG4 documentary aiming to shed light on the hidden sexual abuses carried out against women during the Irish revolution.

Featuring the work of historians and sociologists such as Mary McAuliffe and Linda Connolly, the documentary details the abuses suffered by women during the War of Independence and the subsequent Civil War - and considers why their stories were kept in the dark until now.

Director Ciara Hyland says that she first became aware of this sexual violence while watching a documentary on Cumann na mBan, when one of the historians featured said: "Of course the sexual violence against these women during this period has never been discussed."

"That line struck me because that was the first time I’d ever heard anyone even mention sexual violence during the revolution," Ciara tells Her. "It’s a whole topic that I had never been considered."

Deciding to dig a little deeper, Ciara soon discovered that there were multiple Irish historians who had uncovered firsthand accounts of sexual violence against women during this time.

There were diaries, letters, witness statements and more, all written in the survivors' own words. "The evidence was there," says Ciara. "But now 100 years on it's been rediscovered and brought into the light."