As IMAGE celebrates its milestone 50th year, editor Lauren Heskin looks back on the magazine’s 1976 issues to see what has – and hasn’t – changed.
IMAGE July 1976 cover. The May 1976 cover in which bikinis were named the “biggest thing in beachwear – though judging by some we have seen it might be more correct to say the smallest!”. October 1976 cover.
Our favourite fashion shoot is from the June issue, featuring the clothes of Irish designers Henry White, Patrick Howard and Richard Alan, photographed in the riding stables of Brennanstown, Kilmacanogue.
I spent much of this issue’s “quiet time” tucked into the IMAGE archive, sifting through its first few issues. Brought to life in 1976 as a voice for Irish women, IMAGE came to be in a time of great change, particularly for the women of Ireland. The height of the Troubles, the beginning of the technology revolution, the country’s headlines covered everything from the first Apple computer and the founding of Microsoft to the condom trains and whether married women had a place in the workforce.
While it’s hard to reconcile just how much Ireland has changed in the last 50 years, what struck me most was how timeless the 1976 magazines felt. Yes, the font size was tiny, the beauty advice questionable, the design awkward and the fashion occasionally cringeworthy, yet I was captivated by articles on divorce and Montessori-style teaching, social pictures, recipes, humorous opinion pieces on why your thirties is a “marvellous age”, Irish city guides, ageless house tours, interviews with bright and bold Irish businesswomen, profiles of female makers, and, for the most part, beautiful fashion shoots.
Some of the fashion from the 1976 issues felt unexpectedly current. From its continual focus on Irish designers such as Henry White, Thomas Wolfangel and Richard Alan, to an emphasis on Irish craft, the ethos (if not the aesthetic) remains the same. Fashion editorials revolved around themes of the rise of tennis style, double denim and dinner-party hosting.
Almost as entertaining as the content were the advertisements, ranging from moody drinks brands and long-time beauty classics, to surprisingly contemporary fashion.
While there were so many articles I wanted to reproduce, from Mary Kenny’s thoughts on “immature Irishmen”, to weekending with contributor Vincent Browne, it was the readers’ letters and replies that I kept returning to. 1976 was a time of great change for women in Ireland and questions ranged from relationship help and beauty advice to support for shyness, mental health and even depression. Contributors Grace O’Shaughnessy and Mary Kenny responded to the letters with grace and clarity. A letter in the March 1976 issue came in from a married woman with children expressing the difficulty she had in procuring a prescription for contraception from her family GP. She was advised to try the newly established family planning clinics in Dublin and Cork. In response, another reader wrote into the June issue to enquire if “you are in favour of such things as contraception, divorce, abortion, and euthanasia. I would be interested in your candid opinion.”
Here is the response, which I found both thoughtfully phrased and incredibly progressive. It’s worth noting that divorce wasn’t legalised until 1997; contraception, though technically legal to married couples by prescription in 1973, was not unrestricted until 1993; abortion was not decriminalised until 2019. And while a 2024 Special Joint Committee has recommended introducing legislation to allow for assisted dying in restricted circumstances, euthanasia remains illegal in Ireland in 2026.
“Your question covers a very broad spectrum of matters, totally unconnected. You might also have asked me if I am in favour of sickness, disease, poverty and ignorance! Of course, I am not in favour of such things but they are numbered amongst the many problems with which this poor world is troubled and I will be glad to tell you as simply as I can how I view the subjects you mention. I am convinced that the question of how many children married couples should have is a matter for them to decide. How and when they have their children is a sacrosanct matter and the methods they may employ is entirely their business. I consider unwanted children to be one of the greatest tragedies in the world.
Divorce is the last stage in the breakdown of a human relationship that once had a meaning. That in itself is always a sad and regrettable thing. If a marriage is irretrievably broken, it is surely only reasonable that it should be ended. Even the Catholic Church now acknowledges this fact, and allows many such marriages to be annulled. The word ‘divorce’ is not mentioned, but the end result is the same. It only now remains for the State to follow the example of the Church and sanction legal divorce. It seems certain that this will be done in the not too distant future.
Until last autumn, I did not know the exact meaning of the word “euthanasia”. I watched The Late Late Show and heard a doctor explain that it is a Greek word and means “gentle death”. Until then, I must admit that the word had a sinister ring about it. None of us has any idea of how death will come to us. We only know that it is certain. But we can hope, and my hope is that it will come gently for me and for all. For my part, I am prepared to leave the details to my doctor. I trust him completely in my life, why should I not do so in death?
Abortion is something that nobody is ‘in favour of’. We would all like to see a world where the need for abortion would no longer exist, but as long as the need exists, abortions will continue and I do not believe that abuse, misrepresentations, hierarchical denouncements or any other such methods will in any way reduce their numbers. I believe that Maura O’Dea has done more to stem the tide of abortion in Ireland than the combined efforts of everybody else. By having founded Cherish [a charity established in 1972 to provide for and campaign on behalf of unmarried mothers], she has offered encouragement and love and care to girls who find themselves with unwanted pregnancies. If the Government, the Churches and the rest of us gave Maura every possible backing, much could and would be achieved. There is no other way.”
This article originally appeared in the Spring 2026 issue of IMAGE, the first of four very special issues this year, celebrating 50 years of IMAGE Magazine. Have you thought about becoming an IMAGE subscriber? Our Print & Digital Magazine subscribers receive all four issues of IMAGE Magazine and two issues of IMAGE Interiors directly to their door along with digital access to all digital magazines and our full digital archive plus a luxury gift from La Bougie worth €75. Visit here to find out more about our IMAGE subscription packages.
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