In February 1985, a story made headlines in the Irish national press. An unnamed policewoman was being threatened with dismissal from An Garda Siochána, for having given birth to a baby outside wedlock. Majella Moynihan was 22 years old. Pressured to give up her baby for adoption, she would go on to navigate a Garda culture steeped in misogyny and prejudice until finally leaving the force 15 years on. In her memoir, Majella tells her story, from an institutional childhood after she lost her mother as a baby, to realising her vocation of becoming a guard, to the devastating ramifications of being charged with breaching the force’s disciplinary rules – for having premarital sex with another guard, becoming pregnant, and having a child.
A Guarded Life
€10.50
Description
A GARDA, A FORCED ADOPTION, A FIGHT FOR JUSTICE
In 1984, Majella Moynihan was a fresh-faced young garda recruit when she gave birth to a baby boy. Charged with breaching An Garda Sìochána’s disciplinary rules – for having premarital sex with another guard, becoming pregnant, and having a child – she was pressured to give up her baby for adoption, or face dismissal. It forced her into a decision that would have devastating impacts on her life.
Majella left the force in 1998 after many difficult years and, in 2019, following an RTÃ documentary on her case, she received an apology from the Garda Commissioner and Minister for Justice for the ordeal she endured as a young garda. Here, for the first time, she tells the full story.
From an institutional childhood after the death of her mother when she was a baby, to realising her vocation of becoming a guard only to confront the reality of a police culture steeped in misogyny and prejudice, A Guarded Life is both a courageous personal account of hope and resilience in the darkest times, and a striking reflection on womanhood and autonomy in modern Ireland.
Additional information
| Weight | 0.234 kg |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 19.6 × 12.6 × 3 cm |
| Book_author | Moynihan, Majella |
| Publisher | Hachette Books Ireland |
| Imprint | Hachette Books Ireland |
| Cover | Paperback |
| Pages | 320 |
| Language | English |
| Edition | |
| Dewey | 363.2092 (edition:23) |
| Readership | General – Trade / Code: K |
