At the Enniskillen Creative Shop this week, Claire Falconer has been encompassing a strong female character from 1902 as part of an immersive collaborative performance with her friend Maura Logue of Dark Daughter Productions, Donegal. Speaking to The Impartial Reporter on International Women’s Day last Friday (March 8), Claire shared her experience of working with empowering women.

Talking about her experience of working with Maura, Claire said: “It is an absolute joy to work with somebody who you feel you have a telepathic connection with, where your focus is on doing things for the right intention and the greater good of building something that is bigger than yourself, creatively as your goal, and Maura has always been like that too.”

By working alongside Maura, Claire commented that she has had the honour to bring to life “some truly singular women.” She added: “Writers, independent thinkers, women who have shone torches in the depth of hard times. All of them women of our Irish and Anglo history.”

Claire noted that these female characters should be given more attention because of their “individuality, strength, quirkiness, accomplishments and wit.”

She added: “Women’s stories just didn’t get written, men wrote the stories and men tended to write about themselves I suppose.”

Explaining that she is currently surrounded by a community of strong and supportive women, Claire said: “I don’t feel that I went looking for it, I feel that maybe it was just my time and place in life where I was ready to embrace that and all of a sudden it was around me and supporting me and inspiring me.”

Claire also referenced Ciara Hambly as a huge support in her life. She said: “Ciara is wonderful, she’s another very talented lady. Working locally with Ciara on her Hambly and Hambly shows at Dunbar House has been an equal delight. I’ve decked the halls with wild blooms and exhibited my recent art. Soirées there are magical.”

She added: “It’s great to be working with women. There was a time in my life where I didn’t really have that connection with a series of strong women.”

Commenting on what International Women’s Day means to her, Claire said: “For me it’s an acknowledgement of our sisterhood, which is vital.”

Across Fermanagh a series of International Women’s Day events took place on Friday March 8. Fermanagh House in Enniskillen was full to capacity with people from all walks of life for the ‘Blazing a Trail’ conference. Women, young and old, and a handful of men attended the event. They were all in agreement on why they were there: To promote and celebrate women’s rights.

Hosted by Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, the theme of the event was ‘Ordinary Women in Extraordinary Times’ and The Council Chairman Howard Thornton opened the event by quoting the powerful athlete Serena Williams. The main aim of the event was to showcase women in history who have impacted and shaped women of today. The day started with a talk from lecturer at Trinity College and Maynooth University Dr. Alex Tierney. Her lecture focused on key women figures from both Irish and British history.

Dr.Tierney’s talk was also based around the many organisations that women were involved in during the 1920’s. This included the suffragette movement and the labour trade unionist movement.

The Impartial Reporter asked the women of Fermanagh who attended the event what women inspire them. We spoke to two women Catherine and Nora from Lisnaskea who said that women have inspired them in many different periods throughout their lives. Some of the trailblazing women that were mentioned as inspirations were Baroness May Blood and Constance Markievicz.

These women were vital in the shaping of women’s rights in Ireland and are names that were mentioned several times throughout the event.