Today, migrant women are part of Ireland’s increasingly diverse society. This exhibition explores the rich traditions of eight women from around the world living in Mayo today. The women loaned objects for display in the exhibition. Through the medium of film they share the objects special meanings and insights into their lives.

Irish Emigrant Women

The experiences of young Irish emigrant women crossing the Atlantic to New York at the end of the 19th century is also explored in the exhibition.

Between 1883 and 1908, over 300,000 Irish women arrived at the Port of New York. The ‘Mission of Our Lady of the Rosary for the Protection of Irish Immigrant Girls’ assisted many of these women. The Mission opened in 1884 and by its silver jubilee in 1908 it reported that some 100,000 women passed through their doors.

The panels provided by Watson House in New York tell their story These are the women who became the mothers, grandmothers and great grandmothers of Irish-America.

Mary Robinson's 'Light' - once displayed in the window of Áras an Uachtaráin, is on loan from the Mary Robinson Centre, Ballina, Co. Mayo. 

The ‘Light’ placed in the window of the Presidential home was a sign that all the people of Ireland including those who emigrated were cherished and remembered. Robinson's ‘light’ has became an acclaimed symbol of an Ireland thinking about its emigrant sons and daughters around the world.  

Download the information panels from the exhibition