From 1993 to 1994, O'Sullivan was Mayor of Limerick, and her religion twice became an issue in 1994, when she was prevented from opening a Christian Brothers School and from reading a lesson at a mass for Limerick's civic week. However, her religious denomination was not the only issue. Family planning was deeply controversial in Ireland from the 1970s to the 1990s, particularly in Limerick, where Kemmy had lost his Dáil seat at the November 1982 general election, after being denounced by the Catholic Church for his opposition to the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland. Those such as O'Sullivan who were involved in the family planning services which Kemmy had helped found were labelled "Kemmy's Femmies".