Ireland in the late nineteenth century was still largely rural, with gross poverty and marked social inequalities. Most women were illiterate; health was poor; infectious diseases and multiple pregnancies were common. Unemployment was high, and there was massive emigration (higher among women) to England and the Americas. English fashions and ideas percolated slowly to Ireland, … Read more
The transformation of Ireland 1900–2000 Diarmaid Ferriter (Profile Books, £30) ISBN 1861973071 The blurb misleads by suggesting that these 759 pages (excluding the scholarly apparatus) are about the transformation of Ireland from an ‘impoverished . . . corner of the British Empire’ into ‘the “Celtic Tiger”’. In the first chapter, dealing with the years 1900–12, … Read more
Tim Carey (Collins Press) ISBN 1898256896 Entering Mountjoy jail in 1997, having spent two years researching its history for this book, the author sought to ‘step back in time’ so as to make a connection with Mountjoy’s nineteenth-century past. Peering through the spy hole of a cell in the basement of B wing, one of … Read more
Sir,—I am looking for information in relation to the headscarf worn byIrish women from 1900 to the year 2000. I am eager to hear from countrywomen who wore or still wear a headscarf or have memories or oldphotographs of loved ones wearing the headscarf. I am also interestedto hear the various ways in which they … Read more
The issue of integrated education in Northern Ireland has been given new impetus by recent political developments; the appointment of Sinn Féin’s Martin McGuinness as education minister and the devolution of powers to the local Assembly. He has yet to make any firm pronouncements but it is clear that increasing demand for integrated schools will … Read more