Feminist campaigner and journalist Nell McCafferty dies aged 80

Author, journalist and feminist campaigner Nell McCafferty has died aged 80.

Born in 1944 in Derry, McCafferty graduated from Queen's University in Belfast before going on to study in France. She later became a freelance journalist working for various publications, including as a columnist for Hot Press.

She was founding member of the Irish Women's Liberation Movement and was an outspoken advocate for social justice, becoming a prominent figure in various campaigns like Bloody Sunday, sex abuse scandals within the Catholic Church and the Kerry Babies cases.

McCafferty was part of the group of women who travelled from to Belfast in 1971 to buy contraceptives, illegally bringing them back past past the barrier at Connolly Station in what was considered a landmark moment.

Some of her published works include A Woman to Blame, on the Kerry babies case; The Armagh Women, which covered women prisoners and their hunger strikes in Northern Ireland and Peggy Deery: A Derry Family at War.

Deeply saddened at the passing of Nell McCafferty.

Nell was an exceptional journalist & campaigner - the voice of an era who helped to bring major advancements in civil rights & women’s rights. She made an enormous contribution to public debate in Ireland. (1/2)

— Micheál Martin (@MichealMartinTD) August 21, 2024

Politicians and various other public figures have been paying tribute to McCafferty, with Taoiseach Simon Harris describing her as “fierce, fearless and fiery,” in an official statement.

“If she was in the room or in the debate, you knew about it,” he said. “Her passion and wrath was not scattergun, it had a laser-like focus on calling out inequality and injustice. She suffered no fools but had a kindness and warmth for many. Her wit and Derry turn of phrase made her impossible to ignore (…)Nell McCafferty left Ireland a much better place than she found it and she played her part with spirit and style.”

Journalist and Prime Time presenter Miriam O’Callaghan took to X (Twitter), to share her own tribute.

“Farewell to a true feminist icon with endless courage, a ground breaking journalist, a brilliant writer, an incredible interviewee I was lucky enough to interview on many occasions, Nell McCafferty was also great fun, always kind & most of all a proud Derry woman,” she wrote.