To celebrate one hundred years of women’s suffrage, artist Noel Murphy embarked on a six-month journey to paint the 53 sitting women members of the Houses of the Oireachtas in one single portrait, unveiled in the Oireachtas on International Women’s Day 2018.

This observational documentary charts Murphy’s artistic journey marking both the centenary of the 1918 election of Countess Constance Markievicz – the first female TD in Dáil Éireann – and the record number of women TDs in the 32nd Dáil, following the introduction of the gender quota in 2016.

Throughout the artistic journey, journalist Eamonn Mallie talks to the women about their role in politics as they visit the artist’s studio. The film not only affords the viewer a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the artist’s creative process but also allows them to experience the colour and emotions of the sitters being captured in paint and on camera.

Notes by Eleanor Melinn