The Week on TwitterTopical

The Week on Twitter | Ann Lovett, Beyonce, & the Rose of Tralee

By Jade Hayden

This week, the Rose of Tralee stated that they had not banned trans women from entering, Beyonce announced that she was with child(ren), and it was the 33rd anniversary of Ann Lovett’s death. It was also the 1st of February, so St. Brigid’s Day happened, and lots of people celebrated, because St. Brigid is deadly.

Jan 31st marks 33rd anniversary of #AnnLovett’s death

33 years ago in a grotto in Longford, 15 year old schoolgirl Ann Lovett gave birth to a baby boy. She had seemingly concealed the pregnancy from the entire town of Granard, until January 31st when she made her way from school to the grotto to give birth in secret. Ann was found some hours later by a group of children who alerted the local parish priest. Ann and her son both died before emergency services arrived.

33 years ago, Ann’s death led to nationwide debates about Ireland’s archaic attitudes towards women and girls – the crux which is still very much being felt today as abortion remains a crime, and thousands of pregnant women risk their lives in Ireland every year. A few months before Ann’s death, Ireland had voted in favour of the Eighth Amendment, enshrining the right to the life of the unborn under constitutional law, and removing women in Ireland’s right to choose.

This week, as the third meeting of the Citizen’s Assembly took place, Twitter remembered Ann Lovett. The fear she must have felt as she concealed her pregnancy echoes the anxiety and despair of the thousands of women who were forced to travel abroad due to an unwanted pregnancy since Ann’s death, and the thousands more who did not have the means to do so.

https://twitter.com/GoChaela/status/826352340206776324

#RoseofTralee confirms trans women can enter competition

The Rose of Tralee isn’t great. This we know. It’s a outdated television format that measures women’s worth on their appearance, tin whistle playing, and how well the Americans can pronounce their seanfhocail. The only good thing to come out of the Rose of Tralee ever was the Sydney Rose calling on Ireland to repeal the 8th, and maybe Dáithí Ó Sé. Maybe.

This week, the Rose of Tralee came under criticism for its apparent ban on transgender contestants. Thursday saw reports circulating concerning the competition’s supposed unwillingness to allow trans women to enter, despite the fact that trans women are women, and that this has been recognised by the state since 2015.

However, later that day, the Executive Chair of the Rose of Tralee Anthony O’Gara took to the Ray D’Arcy Show to state that there is no ban on trans women from entering the competition. According to him, the Rose of Tralee is all about inclusiveness, but that its organisers must also make sure that its contestants aren’t “abused” by the media if aspects of their personal lives become public.

#StBrigidsDay happens, everyone celebrates how badass she was

February 1st marks St. Brigid’s Day. It’s a nice day because it’s also the first day of Spring so there are daffodils, harsh, freezing 8km/h winds, and torrential rain. It’s also nice because we get to celebrate St. Brigid and build crosses in school and shit.

St. Brigid was pretty cool because she did that thing with the cloak and got loads of land that one time. She also used to turn water into beer for Easter, and accidentally became a bishop. She was really sound to poor people and was so thirsty for St. Patrick she started healing people in a crowd on the way to see him, just so she could get there quicker.

This week, the people of Twitter celebrated St. Brigid, her life, the cool shit she did, and the fact that she was way more of a badass than St. Patrick could have ever been.

#Beyonce announces twin pregnancy, provides short-lived break from horrors of world

This week, Beyonce went on Instagram and announced that she was pregnant. With twins. It was glorious. Honestly, it was probably the best thing that’s happened in the entirety of 2017 so far, unless you count Piers Morgan being gagged at the NTAs or Richard Spencer getting punched in the head which, yeah, okay, was pretty fucking great.

Lots of people were very excited about Beyonce’s news. Partly because it’s Beyonce, and she’s unreal, and if two more part-Beyonce creatures are going to be roaming this earth at some stage that can only be good for the rest of mankind. And partly because the news gave us all a well deserved break from the vile, disturbed terrors of this land. We need something good to hold on to, to make it through each day. And thankfully, Beyonce’s womb gave us this, the chance to survive – the chance to live.

https://twitter.com/petitetweeter_/status/826877493961486336

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Jade Hayden 144 posts 0 comments

Jade Hayden has an MA in journalism, a degree in English, and a house rabbit who sleeps in her bed sometimes. You'll often find her wearing glasses, fixing her fringe, and complaining about the amount of time she spends on public transport. Jade is also the editor of HeadStuff's topical section, and she'd love if you sent your submissions over to [email protected].

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