A new exhibition celebrating community midwives in the early 20th century has just been launched at the National Museum of Ireland - Country Life in Turlough Park, Co. Mayo.
Mary Anne Fanning: Celebrating Our Community Midwives is a project by the Irish Community Archive Network (iCAN). It is researched and curated by Emma Laffey, Skehana & District Heritage Group, County Galway, with support from co-curators Dr Éimear O’Connor, Director of Collections & Access, National Museum of Ireland, and Lorna Elms, iCAN Development Officer.
Deirdre Naughton, Director of Midwifery at Portiuncula Hospital, was guest speaker at the launch on Thursday, 3 October 2024.
The exhibition is centred around Mary Anne Fanning, who worked as a District Midwife and Nurse in Co Kerry and then in Garristown, Co Dublin, over the course of a 48-year long career. It also features the stories of midwives and nurses from counties Clare, Cork, Galway, Mayo, Tipperary and Wicklow, researched by 22 groups in the Irish Community Archive Network (iCAN).
(Image: Lynn Scarff, Director of the National Museum of Ireland; Brenda Fanning; grandchild of Mary Anne Fanning; and Emma Laffey, community researcher and curator. Image: Brian Farrell)
On display are several objects relating to Mary Anne Fanning, including her 124-year-old leather midwifery bag, which was used to render medical aid to senior commander Thomas Ashe, as well as other volunteers during the 1916 Rising.
Mary Anne was a familiar and welcome figure in her district, travelling with her midwifery bag in the basket on her bicycle, in all sorts of weather. She could be away from her family for days and nights at a time. She was a forward thinking and independent woman by all accounts and later in her career, she had a Model Ford T motor car to aid her in her work.
Such was the importance placed on her work, that the issue of her petrol permit was raised in the Dáil during World War II and received a response from the then Minister of Supplies, Seán Lemass. Documents detailing this exchange also feature in the exhibition.
(Image: Mary Anne's 124-year-old leather midwifery bag with contents shown.)
Visitors to the exhibition can view some of Mary Anne’s medical instruments, her midwifery certificates, a writing bureau, and a christening gown from 1902 still in use by the family.
A video includes memories from her grandchildren with a short cinefilm clip of Mary Anne, plus an oil painting by her great-great-granddaughter, and poetry in her memory. Audio recordings delve into the life of a rural midwife, modern midwifery, and birthing customs, with insights from Kathleen Ward, a 93-year-old member of the Travelling community.
Visitors can also engage with audio recordings, touchscreen stories, and personal reflections from midwives and their families. The exhibition invites the public to contribute their own memories through a Midwives’ Memory Book, encouraging a collective reflection on the role of midwifery in Irish communities.
Community curator Emma Laffey, a healthcare assistant in the maternity department at Portiuncula Hospital, Galway, and a mother of six, began researching the history of community midwifery while exploring her own family history. Discovering her great-grandmother's death from 'maternal exhaustion', Emma started researching the important role of community midwives in early 20th-century Ireland.
Her work culminated in her award-winning book An Bhean Ghlúine, which explored the lives of these 'women of the knee' or 'handy women'. The book was funded by the Heritage Council and provided the inspiration for this new temporary exhibition at the National Museum of Ireland in Co. Mayo.
(Image: Mary Anne as a young midwife c1910.)
Established in 2009 as an initiative of the National Museum, iCAN is delivered in partnership with the Heritage Council and participating Local Heritage Officers. It supports volunteer groups to gather, record and share their community’s history and heritage online. Mary Anne Fanning: Remembering our Community Midwives is significant for iCAN and the National Museum because it is the first time an iCAN project has been the central focus of an exhibition at the National Museum.
Welcoming the new exhibition, Director of the National Museum of Ireland, Lynn Scarff, said:
This exhibition is a tribute to the extraordinary work of community midwives, whose dedication and care helped shape the lives of countless families across Ireland. Through this exhibition, we not only honour the legacy of its subjects, but we also celebrate the dedication of volunteers and heritage groups who continue to preserve and share these remarkable stories in digital archives. It is a powerful reminder of the value of community history in understanding our shared past.”
Community Curator Emma Laffey added:
Through my work as a healthcare assistant, I was always very interested in a time when women only birthed their babies at home. It was a time that carried immense risks and vulnerabilities for both the mother and the child. Understanding the women who guided mothers through that time was so fascinating to me, even more so when I discovered that my own great-grandmother died from “maternal exhaustion”. These women overcame so many barriers to get educated and work for themselves. They were pillars of the community, and I am delighted they are being given the recognition they deserve.”
Chief Executive of the Heritage Council, Virginia Teehan, said:
The Heritage Council was proud to fund Emma Laffey’s book, An Bhean Ghlúine, which inspired this exhibition. Laffey’s book and this exhibition remind us of the importance of local midwifes in providing culturally sensitive, community-based care, addressing unique challenges such as geographic isolation, limited access to medical facilities, and the need for personalised care. Acknowledging these heroines recognises their self-sufficiency and preserves traditional healthcare knowledge within localities. Our continued support of iCAN gives voice to local communities and I am thrilled to see it grow from strength to strength and expand across the country”.
iCAN Development Officer, Lorna Elms, said:
iCAN equips volunteers with the training they need to build digital archives for their communities. The work these volunteers do is invaluable, preserving local history and heritage in a way that connects generations and fosters a shared pride in their community. In a way, this exhibition is culmination of what communities can do when they are empowered to document their own history. I am thrilled to see some of that knowledge given the status of an exhibition at our National Museum.”
Pacelli Linscheid, who is a granddaughter of Mary Anne Fanning, said:
I am so incredibly proud to see the legacy of my grandmother honoured in this way by the National Museum of Ireland. Her dedication to the community and to helping families in their most vulnerable moments is something that has inspired generations of our family.”
A public program will accompany the duration of the exhibition. Highlights include a talk on community midwives by Emma Laffey (19 October), a talk by Lisa McGeeney on the professionalism of nursing and midwifery in the poor-law unions between 1882 and 1922 (November 17), a lace demonstration by the Headford Lace Project (December 6), and a baby rattle-making workshop (February 7). Other events include talks on nursing professionalism, midwifery traditions, and a midwifery genealogy workshop.
This temporary exhibition, Mary Anne Fanning: Remembering Our Community Midwives, will run at the National Museum of Ireland – Country Life in Co. Mayo until March 2025. Admission is free.