In Her Shoes: How a Facebook page became the voice of the Repeal The Eighth movement

How a Facebook page became the voice of the Repeal The Eighth movement. Ciara McDonnell meets the woman behind In Her Shoes

Erin Darcy. Picture Julia Monard

In 2018, a deeply emotional campaign was ripping through the country, taking on the Constitution of Ireland by repealing the Eighth Amendment. There are countless people – men and women – who contributed to Repeal, but few who touched the hearts of women quite like Erin Darcy. Back in 2018, the Mum-of-three felt set apart from the huge movement she was watching unfold before her eyes.

As a native Oklahoman, Erin did not have a vote to cast in the referendum, but she knew that she had to contribute to the cause in some way. “I have two daughters and have been pregnant four times in Ireland,” she tells me over the phone, while wrangling Ophelia, her four-year-old. “I would have assumed that I would always have access to the kind of healthcare that I needed when I needed it. I was pregnant and due at the same time as Savita Halappanavar, and her death made me realise that this was not the case.”