A young Donegal woman has set out to give a voice to women in modern Ireland.

Through the power of music, Aine O’Boyle from Killybegs is bringing women’s issues to the fore and making people listen.

The 26-year-old delved into her creativity during lockdown to start the ‘Cheaper Than Therapy’ series – a collection of deeply personal and emotional music.

Aine O Boyle

The last instalment is a thought-provoking account of a key moment in recent Irish women’s history. 

In 2018, TD Ruth Coppinger put the treatment of alleged rape victims in the spotlight by holding up a lace thong in the Dáil Chamber. The Solidarity TD was protesting a recent court case in Cork, where a teenage girl’s underwear was discussed during a rape trial. The case sparked an international outcry and gave rise to equality demonstrations on consent.

Two years on, Aine shares her interpretation of the case and looks at the language and discourse used against women in the modern world. 

The song is called ‘I won’t lose’:

The musical statement is just one part of Aine’s impactful series. 

“Lockdown has given us lots of time to reflect and focus on ourselves without distraction. So returning home to Donegal, has allowed me to slow down and deal with a lot of issues that otherwise I’m not sure I would have had time to think about,” Aine tells Donegal Woman.

“The idea behind ‘Cheaper Than Therapy’ was to take those issues, emotions and feelings and create a musical journey that myself and others who’d like to listen to could come along and explore. 

“It started with identifying existing belief systems and moving along the therapeutic process in a musical form, towards the last one which is about acceptance and coming to terms with the experiences we’ve had in our lives.”  (You can find Aine’s other songs here) 

“The last song is about reclaiming the language and narrative that is often used against women who have suffered rape or sexual assault, unwarranted attention, whatever it may be. And framing it in the context of Ruth Coppinger’s 2018 speech, seemed very fitting and also directional in terms of what changes have to be made in our courtrooms and in our culture.”