The European Parliament as a ‘Useful’ Context for Feminist Activism in Ireland?

Irish feminists, lacking a strong political resource capacity in unions and political parties have resorted to leveraging transnational lobbies and brokerage with supranational actors to press for change. The EU is often cited as a central venue in this strategy, with the European Parliament (EP) playing an important role as a context to advance gender equality for Irish women. This paper will examine the past, present and potential role of the European Parliament (EP) to advance gender equality for Irish women. Interview data with Irish feminist actors and MEPs is used to explore attitudes towards and engagement with the EP as a context to mobilize on women’s rights. This paper draws on literature on the Europeanization of social movements and the “usages” Europe from a gendered perspective to reflect from a national level on what the changed role of the EP and shifts in gender equality at EU level mean for mobilization on gender equality at the national level.