Exhibition by Kaupo Kikkas at the Photo Museum Ireland

Síle de Valera
Kaupo Kikkas 2022

In order to mark 50 years of Ireland’s membership of the European Union, Photo Museum Ireland presents a portrait exhibition of female Irish Members of the European Parliament, past and present.

These photographs, taken by renowned Estonian art photographer Kaupo Kikkas to accompany a book with pen portraits by distinguished historian Dr Sinéad McCoole, are a testimony to the evolution of attitudes regarding gender equality and to the gradual increase of Irish female representation in the European Parliament.

Ireland has come a long way over the past 50 years, but recent state commemorations in the context of the ‘Decade of Centenaries’ programme have highlighted that women still have to fight for a number of causes in the 21st century, to bring equality to all aspects of Irish women’s lives.