Podcast: The woman who gave us control of our fertility — May McGee 

May McGee made it possible for Irish women to plan their families and to take control of their own fertility

May McGee was a young, hearing-impaired mother to four children under the age of two living in a caravan when she took the Irish State to the Supreme Court challenging its position on contraception, and won.

Complicated pregnancies, including a stroke she suffered in one, meant that she was advised to take contraception by her doctor. But the spermicidal jelly she ordered in the post was intercepted by Customs, and she and her husband were threatened with prison. She was furious at the Government interfering in her private life.

May, who died late in 2025, made it possible for Irish women to plan their families and to take control of their own fertility.