Lady Aberdeen: Allegations of excessive drinking by Irish women unfair

Dublin, 3 December 1914 - The charge of excessive drinking being made against the wives of soldiers who are away serving at the front is very hurtful, claimed Lady Aberdeen.

She made the claim at a meeting of the Women’s National Health Association in Dublin where she said it was grossly unfair to see the whole of this group of women subject to one general accusation, when in fact levels of female drunkenness in Ireland had fallen since the war started.

[Editor's note: This is an article from Century Ireland, a fortnightly online newspaper, written from the perspective of a journalist 100 years ago, based on news reports of the time.]