In 1933, the Blue Blouses (the female contingent of O’Duffy’s infamous Blueshirts) had more women members than Cumann na mBan, the Irish Countrywomen’s Association, and every other women’s organisation in Ireland combined. Yet today, almost no one has heard of them. The first branch of the Blue Blouses was formed in Toames, near Macroom, and a new documentary uncovers the forgotten story of the women who organised, mobilised, and wielded influence within one of the most controversial political movements in Irish history.

Mná na Léinte Gorma airs on TG4 at 9:30pm on Wednesday March 4th, and tells the story of the rapid national expansion of the organisation. Produced by Cork-based company Bo Media, the documentary asks why such a large and powerful female movement was written out of Ireland’s historical narrative. It also brings to light figures such as Senator Kathleen Browne and TD Bridget Mary Redmond, politically active women whose roles have long been marginalised or ignored in mainstream accounts of the period. Drawing on archival material and expert analysis, the programme explores how thousands of ordinary, respectable women became involved in a proto-fascist organisation during the turbulent 1930s, and what that involvement reveals about gender, power, and political life in the early Free State.

As authoritarian ideologies gained ground across Europe, Ireland was not immune. Mná na Léinte Gorma traces how fear, faith, and a desire for order shaped women’s political engagement, examining their motivations, contradictions, and the darker implications of the movement they supported. The documentary resists easy judgments, instead offering a nuanced and critical re-examination of women’s political agency at a moment of profound social change.

Directed by Patrick O’Shea, Mná na Léinte Gorma features contributions from leading historians and commentators, Dr Mary McAuliffe, Dr Owen O’Shea, Dr Megan McAuley, Dr Pat McCarthy, Cuan Ó Seireadáin, Fine Gael Cllr Brídín Murphy and former deputy leader of Fianna Fáil, Mary Hanafin.

Bilingual in Irish and English, and rooted in Cork city and county, the programme resonates nationally, opening timely conversations about extremism, gender, identity, and how history chooses what and who it remembers. The 1920s saw Ireland ripped apart by the War of Independence and the Civil War. In the 1930s this country was put back together, setting the foundations of the Ireland we know today.

Mná na Léinte Gorma airs on TG4 at 9:30pm on Wednesday March 4th.