Subjugated Knowledges and the Politics of Irish Unification: Is There a Space for Women’s Voices?

ABSTRACT: Drawing on a case study of constitutional debates on the island of Ireland, this article examines how a feminist approach reveals the displacement of marginalised identities in terms of authorised and disqualified knowledges. It explores how constitutional transitions can be reimagined to foster participa-tory, equitable and gender-responsive frameworks that disrupt entrenched power dynamics and promote transformative inclusion. Through the lens of the Critical Epistemologies Across Borders project, this article illustrates how feminist principles were operationalised in the Irish context to reconfigure privileged and marginalised constitutional knowledges. By fostering inclusive, participatory spaces that centred women’s voices and diverse standpoints across geographic, social and identity boundaries, the project disrupted entrenched epistemic inequalities. The article concludes that without robust, sustained interventions by stakeholders to prioritise feminist constitutionalism, marginalised groups— particularly women and sexual and gender minorities—risk remaining sidelined in constitutional debates, perpetuating inequitable gender power dynamics.