Bad Bridget

The Irish have a long association with alcohol and in this podcast we look at what happened to those Irish women who got into trouble with alcohol abroad. Those who drank to drown their sorrows, the mothers who neglected their children, and groups of women whose drinking on the streets brought them to court.

Listen to the stories of girls and women who left Ireland pregnant or became pregnant in North America outside marriage. Some who migrated from Ireland believed their partners would follow them, only to find themselves alone and thousands of miles from home. Hear how for some women having a baby out of wedlock had tragic consequences.

Many Irish women travelled to North America, got jobs and sent money home. But perhaps their families did not know where that money came from. Hear about the Irish women who became sex workers, about wrongful convictions and how much family reputation really mattered to some.