The Thorn In The Rose of Tralee - Women's Rights, Abortion, Class?

As an Irish citizen, born and bred in the Emerald Isles, it has become a right of passage to watch the Rose of Tralee for two nights in August, every single summer.
We've all been there. Running to get to the telly for half past nine, with your PJ's and some chocolate with all the girls in the house.
As children we idolise these women, we ogle the dresses, we watch how the jewellery gleams in the light and try to retain how they did their makeup so we can copy them later on. The mothers say how lovely the girls are for their volunteer work in Africa and how they have lovely singing voices.

An Emigrant Without A Say

Today I came across an article on Facebook that mentioned the fact that Irish emigrants still do not have the legal right to vote outside of the island of Ireland, so I decided to do a little digging.

I already knew this, of course, a fact that I, unfortunately, learned during the May referendum concerning same-sex marriage. While all of my family and friends got a say on this pivotal moment in history, I could only watch from the sidelines and listen for any news I could.