Moving Histories is the first book to detail the lives of women who left Ireland after independence. Drawing on a wide range of archival material, this book traces new narratives to bring original insights into the migration of thousands of Irish women in the twentieth century. Despite having a strong tendency to leave Ireland like men, women’s migration to Britain has been less well studied. Yet Irish women could be found in all walks of life in Britain, from the more familiar fields of nursing and domestic service to teaching, factory work and more. This original study also considers the public commentary made about Irish women from the pulpit, press and politicians, who thought the women to be flighty, in need of guidance and prone to moral failures away from home. The repeated coverage of the ‘emigrant girl’ in government memos and journals gave the impression Irish women were leaving for reasons other than employment. Moving Histories argues that the continued focus on Irish unmarried mothers in Britain was based on genuine concerns and a real problem, but such women were not representative. They were, rather, an indictment of the conservative socio-cultural environment of an Ireland that suppressed open discourse of sexuality and forced women to ‘hide their shame’ in institutions at home and abroad.
The book is based on Dr Redmond's PhD and postdoctoral work conducted at Trinity College Dublin and Maynooth University respectively. It will be launched in 2019 by Professor Enda Delaney, University of Edinburgh, one of the series editors of Reappraisals in Irish History at Liverpool University Press.
Commemorations
ToggleNew publication
News
Letters of 1916: A year in the life’ project launches
Researchers at Maynooth University are today launching an online archive of letters written 100 years ago.
Date: Wednesday, 02 March 2016
Bridge 2016 - Alumni magazine article
The Bridge, Alumni magazine issued in December 2015 has an interesting article on 'Maynooth College and 1916' exhibition.
Date: Tuesday, 15 December 2015
Historic Mount Street comes to Digital Life
Researchers at Maynooth University and Trinity College Dublin, in conjunction with the Humanities Virtual Worlds Consortium and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, have developed a virtual world to allow researchers and members of the public a novel way to understand The Battle of Mount Street, one of the most seminal engagements of the 1916 Rising.
Date: Friday, 20 November 2015
Fearghus Ó Conchúir wins 1916 Arts Commission
Fearghus Ó Conchúir wins 1916 Arts Commission
Date: Monday, 10 August 2015
World War One soldier’s diary placed online by Maynooth University
A digitised and fully transcribed version of an Irish World War One soldier’s diary, offering an intimate first-hand account of life on the Western Front in 1918, has been made available online.
Date: Wednesday, 10 June 2015
Irish soldiers in First World War
A former seminarian appears in the Irish Times
Date: Thursday, 21 August 2014