Housewife of the Year, which has already garnered significant attention following its world premiere, picking up the Best Irish Feature Documentary Award at the Galway Film Fleadh, has just been released in Irish cinemas. The film tells the story of Ireland’s treatment of women through the prism of a unique, surreal, live televised competition, where a generation of Irish women competed in front of a live audience for the title of ‘Housewife of the Year’. This is a story of a resilient generation of women and how they changed a country, covering everything from experiences of marriage bars, lack of contraception, Magdalene laundries, financial vulnerability, boredom and shame and of course, of being contestants in the competition. Three of the former contestants telling their story in the film are from West Cork.
Margaret Carmody,
Skibbereen: Margaret was the 1978 ‘Housewife of the Year’ – and it surely came as no surprise to those who knew this enterprising woman. She married her late husband John when she was just 20-years-old, and they went on to have seven children together. Amongst the chaos of family life, she also set up and ran a bar, restaurant and shop with her husband. Having left school early, Margaret always wanted to go back, and she did just that when her children started to grow up. She studied social work in UCC, got a masters, and now works as a probation officer. She loves her job, and feels very involved with the people she is trying to help.
Ellen Gowan, Castletownbere:
Ellen was a finalist in the 1984 Housewife of the Year competition. While everything seemed perfect at the time, her life got turned on its head some years later when her husband left without any explanation and never came back. Ellen was no stranger to difficult situations (having been landed in a Magdalene Laundry as a teenager) and she fought to turn her life around – returning to school in her 40s, opening a B&B and being a very active member of her community in Castletownbere, where she still lives a very happy life today.
Miriam Fitt, Castletownbere: Miriam was a finalist in the 1990 Housewife of the Year competition. At the time of the show, she was married to her late husband, and they lived in Castletownbere with their four children. Before getting married, Miriam was a nurse, but she had to leave her job due to the marriage bar. She found married life boring, but just got on it with. Sadly, Miriam’s husband died soon after the competition. She retrained as a nurse once her children were reared, and travelled a bit with her work. She eventually remarried a fellow widower, and they are living happily together in Castletownbere.
The documentary which has upcoming screenings at the Newport Beach Film Festival, the Santa Fe International Film Festival and the Kerry International Film Festival was produced by Maria Horgan for Little Wing Films with funding from Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland, RTÉ, SVT, DR, and NRK.
