€11.69
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.
Out of stock
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.
Weight | 0.234 kg |
---|---|
Dimensions | 19.6 × 12.6 × 3 cm |
Author | |
Publisher | |
Imprint | |
Cover | Paperback |
Pages | 320 |
Language | English |
Edition | |
Dewey | 363.2092 (edition:23) |
Readership | General – Trade / Code: K |
Can’t find the right book, why not give a gift card and let them find that special book.
If we don’t have the book you want, we will do our best to order it for you and often have it in a few days.
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional | 11 months | The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". |
viewed_cookie_policy | 11 months | The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data. |
Get notified about new articles