Cora Sherlock is a writer, blogger and campaigner in the Irish

anti-abortion movement Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in response to the leg ...

. She is deputy chairperson of the

Pro Life Campaign Pro Life Campaign (PLC) is an Irish Opposition to the legalization of abortion, anti-abortion advocacy group, advocacy organisation. Its primary spokesperson is Cora Sherlock. It is a non-denominational organisation which promotes anti-abortion ...

. In 2014, she was included in

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's 100 Women series.

Early life

Sherlock is from

Collon Collon () is a village and townland in the south west corner of County Louth, Ireland, on the N2 national primary road. The village is home to the Cistercian Abbey of New Mellifont, and to Collon House, the ancestral home of the Foster family. ...

, County Louth. She studied law at

University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

in 1993, and while studying there, she joined the Pro Life Campaign. Sherlock completed a master's degree in

Queen's University Belfast The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of ...

and qualified as a solicitor.

Political campaigning

She has been a pro-life/anti-abortion campaigner and activist since the early 1990s. As deputy chairperson of the Pro Life Campaign she has written articles in national newspapers, and appeared on radio and TV on the abortion debate in Ireland.

2002 Abortion Referendum

Sherlock called for a yes vote on the

Twenty-fifth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2001 The Twenty-fifth Amendment of the Constitution (Protection of Human Life in Pregnancy) Bill 2001 ( bill no. 48 of 2001) was a proposed amendment to the Constitution of Ireland to tighten the constitutional ban on abortion. It would have remove ...

. The Pro Life Campaign also called for a yes vote. She argued that "a Yes vote signifies our acceptance of the Government's commitment to find a realistic alternative to abortion, a matter which those who intend to vote No have studiously ignored to date." She voted against the

Treaty of Nice The Treaty of Nice was signed by European leaders on 26 February 2001 and came into force on 1 February 2003. It amended the Maastricht Treaty (or the Treaty on European Union) and the Treaty of Rome (or the Treaty establishing the European C ...

in the 2001 referendum.

Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act

Sherlock was opposed to the

Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013 The Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013 ( Act No.35 of 2013; previously Bill No.66 of 2013) was an Act of the Oireachtas which, until 2018, defined the circumstances and processes within which abortion in Ireland could be legally perfo ...

. She said "It's a bad law, with no evidential basis".

Referendum on the Eighth Amendment

Sherlock was opposed to the referendum on the repeal of the Eighth Amendment, which passed. She was opposed to the Citizens Assembly, and has spoken in favour of keeping the Eighth Amendment on newspaper, radio, and TV.

Media

Sherlock has spoken on television and radio on behalf of the Pro-Life Campaign and the Love Both campaign, on programmes such as Vincent Browne Tonight and Prime Time. She has contributed articles and opinion pieces to newspapers, including ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...

'', ''

The Sunday Business Post The ''Business Post'' (formerly ''The Sunday Business Post'') is a Sunday newspaper distributed nationally in Ireland and an online publication. It is focused mainly on business and financial issues in Ireland. Founding to Irish financial crisi ...

'', the ''

Irish Examiner The ''Irish Examiner'', formerly ''The Cork Examiner'' and then ''The Examiner'', is an Republic of Ireland, Irish national daily newspaper which primarily circulates in the Munster region surrounding its base in Cork (city), Cork, though it is ...

'' and ''

The Irish Catholic ''The Irish Catholic'' is a 40-page Irish weekly newspaper providing news and commentary about the Catholic Church. The newspaper is privately owned by editor-in-chief Garry O’Sullivan, managed by a private limited company and independent of ...

''. During the 2018 referendum to repeal the eighth amendment, there was controversy when the Pro-Life Campaign wished to remove Sherlock from the RTÉ televised debate with Minister

Simon Harris Simon Harris (born 17 October 1986) is an Irish Fine Gael politician serving as Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and Minister for Defence since January 2025, having previously served as Taoiseach from 2024 to 2025. He has ...

, in favour of Maria Steen. RTÉ refused to agree to the proposed change, and instead, Peadar Toibin TD was asked to debate on behalf of the Pro-Life side. Sherlock's brother, Leo Sherlock, founded the online news website TheLiberal.ie in 2014. Cora Sherlock contributed articles to the website when it was founded, but none since 2014.Author Cora Sherlock
TheLiberal.ie

References

External links

CoraSherlock.com official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sherlock, Cora 1976 births Living people 21st-century Roman Catholics Irish solicitors Conservatism in Ireland Irish anti-abortion activists Irish women activists Irish Roman Catholic writers Abortion in the Republic of Ireland Alumni of University College Dublin Alumni of Queen's University Belfast People from County Louth