Left Image – Shutterstock: Sasirin Pamai; Right Image – Shutterstock: Four Courts, Dublin
Tributes have been paid in Ireland following the death of Mary “May” McGee, the woman whose 1970s legal challenge led to the legalisation of contraceptives, a big hit in the country once defined by its Catholic moral code.
McGee, a mother of four, found herself at the centre of a national controversy in 1972 when customs officers seized a package she had ordered from the UK containing a diaphragm and spermicide. At the time, the sale and import of contraceptives were banned under a 1935 law, reflecting Ireland’s long-standing commitment to protecting marriage and family life.
After suffering health complications during two of her pregnancies, McGee’s doctor warned that another could be fatal. Unable to obtain contraception legally, she and her husband, Seamus, decided to challenge the law. When their case was dismissed by the High Court, they appealed to the Supreme Court, which ruled in their favour by four votes to one. The judges declared that married couples had a right to make decisions about artificial contraception under the right to privacy.
Hailed by some as a victory for women’s rights, the ruling marked a profound cultural shift, and ultimately what many see as the beginning of Ireland’s moral unravelling. What began as a limited allowance for married couples gradually widened into an open market for contraception, and later, into broader debates about sexual ethics, abortion, and the definition of family.
The McGees’ actions divided opinion deeply. Supporters viewed them as pioneers; critics saw their case as a challenge to the values that had long shaped Irish life. The couple were ostracised by their parish after their priest accused them of bringing the Church into disrepute, prompting them to leave. Yet the Supreme Court’s decision would come to be regarded as one of the most consequential in Irish legal history.
Justice Gerard Hogan later described the ruling as the “legal equivalent of the moon landing,” noting its far-reaching social effects. As Ireland today reflects on McGee’s legacy, SPUC reflects on how a seemingly altruistic decision by lawmakers can open the doors to a landslide of damaging progressive policy that has created the Ireland of today.
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