One of the most significant developments of the last century, the centenary of which will be commemorated next year, was the Representation of the People Act (RPA). It widened the franchise, extending the vote to men of 21 and granting it to women for the first time, but only those women aged over 30 who were either themselves homeowners or else married to householders. From 1918, women were also permitted to stand for election to parliament. As a result of the RPA the Irish electorate increased dramatically from 698,000 to 1,931,000. Richard Sinnott has highlighted the historic significance of this; the 1884 Reform Act had widened the electorate from 8 to 31 per cent of the population aged 20 and over, but now the proportion was increased to 75 per cent.

Trinity College Dublin has announced that use of the term 'freshman' is to be phased out and be replaced with the gender-neutral term 'fresh'. In an email to all staff and students announcing the news today Vice-Provost Chris Morash and Students' Union President Kevin Keane say a proposal from the Equality Committee that "the title given to first and second year undergraduates students be changed from 'Freshman' to the gender-neutral term 'Fresh'" had been approved.

A new poster initiative from Dublin City Council is acting on a 2015 report that highlighted “relentless examples” of sexist behaviour.