“The Night Doesn’t Belong To Us” Highlights Women’s Fears on Limerick’s Dark Streets

Dates: Monday, July 15th to Thursday, July 25th

Location: People’s Museum of Limerick

The streets of Ireland should be safe and accessible for everyone at anytime, regardless of their gender. The reality of this however, is something very different. “We often say ‘Text me when you get home’ as women, knowing that activities like walking home alone after a night out or going for a late-night run are riskier for us”, says photographer Eilís Walsh. “The aim is to highlight these unsafe spots in Limerick at night, hoping that steps will be taken to make these places safer for women.”

When asked where the idea for the piece came from Eilís Walsh told District “As a photographer, I have a personal interest in street photography and in particular shooting city spaces at night. I was frustrated that I felt unsafe while trying to take these photographs at night time, that this experience was something I couldn’t enjoy fully, due to being worried about my safety. There’s always that fear, that what if thought of what if something happens to myself or my female friends on the way home, we hear horror stories in the news and we as a nation are still reeling from the murder of Aisling Murphy in broad daylight for example.”

Why shouldn’t I get to enjoy my city after dark, by going for a walk or taking my camera out, why didn’t the night belong to us women too?

Eilís Walsh

Walsh became increasingly frustrated with an inability to do photography at night, due to fears for her safety. “Why shouldn’t I get to enjoy my city after dark, by going for a walk or taking my camera out, why didn’t the night belong to us women too? That’s when I asked Maria McSweeney and Julie McLoughlin to see if they would be interested in bringing this project to life and I can’t fully believe that we’ve gotten to this point, of actually launching a real tangible exhibition.”

“The Night Doesn’t Belong To Us”, supported by the 2023 Agility Award from the Arts Council of Ireland, was created using a social media survey. The team gathered input from over 130 women to identify six locations in Limerick perceived as unsafe. These locations were photographed during both day and night to highlight the stark contrast in perceived safety. The exhibition features twelve images showcasing six women of varying ages and backgrounds in these identified areas. Additionally, there are anonymous submissions from women recounting their experiences of feeling unsafe in the city.

Julie McLoughlin, an artist involved in the project, highlighted the significance of the work “Working on this project was very eye-opening in terms of learning about shared experiences with other women and locating (mostly very public and open) spaces in Limerick that felt most unsafe. Shooting in the selected locations also made it very apparent why we need to highlight this issue and make a change for women’s safety. There was a stark contrast shooting between day and night.”

We asked Walsh what hopes she had for people visiting the exhibition. “I hope that through the exhibition we not only kickstart more conversations about the issue but actually push governing bodies such as Limerick city and county council to meet and discuss tangible ways to improve safety in these areas, be it more street lighting, more of a Garda presence,” she told District. “That the exhibition could lead to public consultation days set up in the city where women and men alike could drop in and submit their ideas on how we can improve safety in Limerick overall and put these plans into place.”