Ireland Women

I HAVE TO BE HOME BEFORE THEY MISS ME." THE YOUNG WOMAN WAS SO NERVOUS SHE could hardly get the words out. She lay, small and exhausted, in the corner bed, her brown eyes huge with anxiety, her hair starkly black against her pale face and the white bedspread. Along with five others, she was awaiting an abortion in a small ward of London's Marie Stopes Parkview Clinic. Three of the women came from Northern Ireland; she was from the Republic of Ireland.

Oh, Monica McWilliams recalls with good humor and an Irish lilt, they have been called wenches, whiners and feckless, stupid, silly women. Also cows, dogs, scum. And then there are the insults that McWilliams, co-founder of the Northern Ireland Women's Coalition, would rather not repeat in public. "Men think we're not capable of intelligent reasoning," McWilliams says with a knowing smile.

Twenty years ago, because her fiance was still in college, Adi Roche bought her own $40 engagement ring for "about a week's pay." She dreamed classic dreams of young Irish women then: "A house with an indoor toilet, then a car, then a family." Today, at 42, Roche is running for president of Ireland, a powerful symbol of a new era in a nation at once proud and flustered by breakneck change. "Irish women have certainly come out of the kitchen, haven't we now," Roche said in an interview.

Twenty years ago, because her fiance was still in college, Adi Roche bought her own $40 engagement ring for "about a week's pay." She dreamed classic dreams of young Irish women then: "A house with an indoor toilet, then a car, then a family." Today, at 42, Roche is running for president of Ireland, a powerful symbol of a new era in a nation at once proud and flustered by breakneck change. "Irish women have certainly come out of the kitchen, haven't we now," Roche said in an interview.

A lawyer who favors liberalizing strict birth control and abortion laws appeared headed for election as Ireland's first woman president, according to partial and unofficial returns. Mary Robinson, 46, trailed former Deputy Prime Minister Brian Lenihan in the preliminary count, but polls indicated that a second round today will put her over the top. "It looks like President Robinson now," said Justice Minister Ray Burke, who had supported Lenihan.

The outrage of Sister Claire Murphy flickered to life 25 years ago in a remote Nigerian village where she found herself teaching school as a lonely missionary. The Biafran war had just begun when the young Irish nun received an unexpected package from the church. "The Vatican had sent me a whole cupboard full" of birth control pills, Sister Claire recalled with a thin-lipped smile. "It was OK to protect the nuns against rape by the soldiers, but not the girls in our school."

Left-wing lawyer Mary Robinson made Irish history Friday, becoming Ireland's first female head of state after winning the presidential election against all odds. "The women of Ireland, instead of rocking the cradle, rocked the system," she told cheering supporters after defeating sacked Cabinet minister Brian Lenihan in a bitterly fought campaign. "I don't know whether to dance or sing.

Oh, Monica McWilliams recalls with good humor and an Irish lilt, they have been called wenches, whiners and feckless, stupid, silly women. Also cows, dogs, scum. And then there are the insults that McWilliams, co-founder of the Northern Ireland Women's Coalition, would rather not repeat in public. "Men think we're not capable of intelligent reasoning," McWilliams says with a knowing smile.

If you're like most Americans, most of your knowledge of Northern Ireland has been filtered through the newswires. And because journalists hunger for hot news, we've come to see Northern Ireland as a country of guerrilla actions and government reactions. Indeed, Northern Ireland is all of that. But it's also so much more. In many ways, life in Northern Ireland is like life anywhere: Parents cuddle their babies, children clamor for ice cream and friends share tears over a cup of tea.

Advertiser: Kmart Corp. Agency: Campbell Mithun Esty, Minneapolis Challenge: Introduce Big Kmart, persuading consumers that it is different from plain, old Kmart. The Ad: A star-studded spot directed by Kmart spokeswoman Penny Marshall highlights the people behind the brands sold exclusively at the discount retailer. Martha Stewart (sheets and towels), Big Bird (kids' clothes), actress Jaclyn Smith and model Kathy Ireland (women's clothing) and Roger Penske (auto centers) put in appearances.

I HAVE TO BE HOME BEFORE THEY MISS ME." THE YOUNG WOMAN WAS SO NERVOUS SHE could hardly get the words out. She lay, small and exhausted, in the corner bed, her brown eyes huge with anxiety, her hair starkly black against her pale face and the white bedspread. Along with five others, she was awaiting an abortion in a small ward of London's Marie Stopes Parkview Clinic. Three of the women came from Northern Ireland; she was from the Republic of Ireland.

The outrage of Sister Claire Murphy flickered to life 25 years ago in a remote Nigerian village where she found herself teaching school as a lonely missionary. The Biafran war had just begun when the young Irish nun received an unexpected package from the church. "The Vatican had sent me a whole cupboard full" of birth control pills, Sister Claire recalled with a thin-lipped smile. "It was OK to protect the nuns against rape by the soldiers, but not the girls in our school."

Left-wing lawyer Mary Robinson made Irish history Friday, becoming Ireland's first female head of state after winning the presidential election against all odds. "The women of Ireland, instead of rocking the cradle, rocked the system," she told cheering supporters after defeating sacked Cabinet minister Brian Lenihan in a bitterly fought campaign. "I don't know whether to dance or sing.

A lawyer who favors liberalizing strict birth control and abortion laws appeared headed for election as Ireland's first woman president, according to partial and unofficial returns. Mary Robinson, 46, trailed former Deputy Prime Minister Brian Lenihan in the preliminary count, but polls indicated that a second round today will put her over the top. "It looks like President Robinson now," said Justice Minister Ray Burke, who had supported Lenihan.

If you're like most Americans, most of your knowledge of Northern Ireland has been filtered through the newswires. And because journalists hunger for hot news, we've come to see Northern Ireland as a country of guerrilla actions and government reactions. Indeed, Northern Ireland is all of that. But it's also so much more. In many ways, life in Northern Ireland is like life anywhere: Parents cuddle their babies, children clamor for ice cream and friends share tears over a cup of tea.

Picked as best man in a friend's Irish-themed wedding five years ago, Tom Donaghue needed a toast for the occasion. He thought the Internet would provide a bumper crop, but it was as barren as a field in a famine. "There was nothing out there. That's kind of crazy," said Donaghue, who, after buying a book of sayings to bail himself out, created a Web site called Slainte! Toasts, Blessings, and Sayings at http://violet.umf.maine.edu/~donaghue/toasts.html to help others in the same predicament.

A particularly memorable publicity photo shows Morgan Llywelyn wielding a large ax, vintage perhaps 1599. Llywelyn looks fierce, menacing. She looks like the kind of woman who, in her day, might have captained her own ship, outlived several husbands, survived imprisonments, squared off with Queen Elizabeth, kidnaped a troublesome earl and punished her errant son by burning down his barn and slaughtering most of his livestock.