The Housewife Of The Year Competition Epitomised 20th Century Ireland
Words: Dray Morgan
Ireland’s National Housewife Of The Year Competition ran from 1969 to 1995, supposedly showing the most complete women in the home that the nation had to offer. Housewives were judged in categories such as meal preparation, “civic spirit” and personality.
The final would be broadcast on national television and hosted by Gay Byrne. For most of its longevity, the competition was sponsored by Calor, who would provide a brand new gas cooker to the winning housewife.
The competition was not without its criticism, particularly around the issue of perpetuating traditional gender roles and suppressing the feminist movement. IN the 1970s, most married women were housewives. Until 1973, married women legally were unable to work due to the marriage bar.
Contraception would also only be legalised at the very tail end of the decade in 1979. This resulted in larger families which necessitated a homemaker.The average Household Size in 1971 was 4.1 peopleper household, with 31% of Ireland population living in a household of seven or more people Now that number is at 2.6 people per house.
It must also be recognised that for many of the contestants and winners, The Housewife of the Year competition gave a break from the monotony of domestic life.
In the recently released “Housewife of the Year” documentary which followed up with contestants and winners decades after their participation, many of the women cited meeting Gay Byrne and appearing on RTÉ as a positive memory.
By 1995, times were changing and the concept of what a housewife had evolved from the competition’s mid-century inception. Two schools of thought saw the competition’s cancellation:
Some thought the competition was too sexist and outdated. Others complained that winners did now not represent the traditional housewife, with later contestants being working professionals and not abiding by the paradigm of a “housewife”.
