Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, tens of thousands Irish women worked as domestics. The \"Irish Bridget\" is one of the most recognisable stereotypes of Irish America, but what was life really like for these women, who were the subject of such extensive cariacture and discrimination?
In this episode, Fin and Damian are joined by Dr Catherine Healy, Historian-in-Residence at EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum and an expert on Irish domestic service. In the show we explore the reality of their hard working lives, and try and recover something of their lived experiences, both positive and negative. As well as discussing what these women did and the types of places they worked, we chat through things like vulnerabilities that came with live-in service, the prejudices they endured, and the pride they took in earning their own money and supporting families back in Ireland.
You can find Catherine's Website here: https://catherinehealy.org/
The link to Catherine's Book: Irish Domestic Servants in Transatlantic CUlture, c. 1870-1945