Witness History, BBC World Service
Animal, Radio 4
The Forty Foot is a famous swimming spot right on the edge of Dublin bay.
For hundreds of years, only men got to swim there naked.
Witness History told the story of the women who dared to challenge that.
In the summer of 1974, a dozen women plotted a land, sea and air invasion.
Among them was Mary Dorcey, writer, poet and women’s rights activist.
Looking back, she remembered sailing in, other women rushing in from the land and several others armed with umbrellas, launching themselves in from the air.
Dorcey sparkled as the remembered… it sounded like great fun, if a bit mad.
There was nowhere else in Ireland where women went nude bathing and people came to watch.
The women stormed the Forty Foot on a regular basis.
An RTÉ report from the time had one woman argue: “We came into this world naked, so why not?”
Not that it wasn’t ugly at times, men flashing at women; stones and bags of flour thrown.
Dorcey said the men argued it was a private club, but she knew better.
Her father had told her that nobody had a legal right to own the foreshore.
It was a very long, slow fight, but the women won in the end.
Dorcey said the Forty Foot was just one of a number of battles and some were bigger – not least the fight for contraception in Ireland.
“It’s been a long hard struggle,” Dorcey told reporter Rosie Blunt. “We needed the fun and games of the Forty Foot.”
Animal is a series exploring how humans relate to other animals.
Presenter Blair Braverman is true to her name – brave and feisty. She lives in the United States with her husband and 24 huskies.
Her series follows individuals who are connected to certain animals – from spiders to sharks to magpies.
Episode 1 in the series featured a woman who has arachnophobia.
Elzo, who is 29 and Scottish, has had night terrors about spiders since she was four.
A friendly spider programme at a zoo and hynotherapy makes all the difference.
You can hear the relief in Elzo’s voice – as if a huge weight has been lifted. The fear has been replaced by understanding.
Another episode features a woman who was so fascinated with the magpies in her garden that she decided to write a PhD on how they communicate.
