Edel Coffey: The village it takes to raise a child doesn’t exist anymore

I thought there was only one reason any new mother would take her baby to a stuffy talk in a quiet auditorium of an evening — desperation

It is no place for a baby but still, perhaps instead of tutting, we might try a sympathetic smile, because life is hard enough. Photo: Ray Ryan

A few weeks ago, I attended a literary talk as part of my ongoing efforts at returning to living a culturally engaged life, as opposed to the post-Covid legacy of living an enclosed life. I booked an evening event that was part of one of those ‘ideas’ strands that festivals offer these days, you know the ones that make you feel more clever than you really are and everyone leaves with a great sense of their own intellectual cultivation.

As I took my seat, along with about 250 other people, an usher entered the room at the last minute to ask my row to shuffle down one seat as a woman with a baby was coming and she would need to sit on the end of the aisle in case she needed to beat a hasty retreat. We all moved down but there were dark mutterings. A baby! No place for a baby! Who brings a baby to an event like this?