Clandestine revolutionary activities; an island midwife in the mid-20^th century; and a Jubilee Nurse on Queen Mary’s Christmas card list.

These are just some of the stories local historians and researchers from across Ireland will share at an upcoming event exploring their work on community midwives in the 19^th and 20th centuries. 

This special event takes place from 2pm to 4pm on Saturday, 8 March, to celebrate International Women’s Day at the National Museum of Ireland in Turlough Park, Co. Mayo.

The researchers are all members of the Irish Community Archive Network (iCAN) - a National Museum initiative in partnership with the Heritage Council and participating Local Authority Heritage Officers.

The research forms part of an ongoing exhibition remembering community midwives at the Museum.  

Come along to hear some fascinating stories about midwives, nurses, handywomen and ‘women of the knee’, who formed a vital network of healthcare providers in Ireland before the advent of the modern maternity care system.  

Members of the public will also have an opportunity to see the exhibition and share their own memories and stories of rural midwives in the Midwife’s Memory Book.

This event takes place in association with the exhibition Mary Anne Fanning: Remembering our Community Midwives.

This is a free event, suitable for adults but booking is required. Email BookingsCountryLife@museum.ie or telephone the Bookings Office on +353 94 90 31751 to secure your space.

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Speakers and topics

Therese Hicks, Roundwood Historical Society, Co Wicklow, will talk about Catherine Hayes Magee, who trained as a midwife and nurse in Liverpool and returned to Wicklow to take up the position of Jubilee Nurse for Roundwood, Co Wicklow, in the late 1930s.

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Margaret Kennedy, Tipperary in the Decade of Revolution, Co Tipperary, will talk about how Bridget Rohan Tompkin's role as a nurse in the community gave her a perfect cover for her work with the republican movement during the years of revolutionary conflict, and how she found herself at the wrong end of a gun when the Crown forces targeted her home.

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Mary O'Malley, Louisburgh-Killeen Heritage, Co. Mayo, will talk about Sr Bernadette MacNally, who entered the Sisters of Mercy in 1958, and enjoyed a long and exemplary nursing career before eventually retiring in 2008.

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Bernie Doherty,  Woodlawn Heritage Group, Co Galway, will talk about handywoman Bella Anderson, a mother of eight from Killygordan, Co Donegal. A handywoman or 'woman of the knee' assisted women with childbirth but was not a registered midwife. Although Bella had no formal training, she acted with understanding and empathy that made her an approachable and trusted friend to all in the community.

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​​Helen Riddell, Bere Island Projects Group, Co Cork, will talk about Mary Mullins, Bere Island Nurse from 1935 to 1975. Mary worked during a time when Bere Island was one of three Treaty Ports that remained under British control until 1938, when the Irish Army established part of the Island as a military zone until 1948.

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Deirdre Ruane, Kilkeedy Heritage Group, Co Clare, will talk about Madeline Keown from Corofin, who as a teenager, trained as a midwife in St. John's Hospital, Limerick, and went on to become the Community Midwife for North Clare, serving a large geographical area from Tubber and Boston, over to Kilfenora.

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iCAN (Irish Community Archive Network) was established to encourage and support communities and it is the leading organisation championing and supporting digital community archives in Ireland.

This is a free event, suitable for adults but booking is required. Email BookingsCountryLife@museum.ie or telephone the Bookings Office on +353 94 90 31751 to secure your space.