This exhibition tells the stories of thousands of women who left Ireland for North America between 1838 and 1918, many of which found themselves in trouble and struggling to survive. Victoria Millar, senior curator of History at National Museums Northern Ireland, provided an engaging tour, guiding the group through an eclectic mix of sights, sounds, smells and objects that illustrate these women's experiences of migration. 

 

The visit provided valuable inspiration and ideas for the Market's upcoming Tapestry exhibition, an exhibition reflecting the experience of a local community addressing key public health challenges through arts-based methods.

 

 

Some residents reflected upon their visit to the ‘Bad Bridget’ exhibition:

“Wonderful exhibit, very sad at times but also some funny stories – Maggy Brown, Marry Cotter - Wonderful thank you!”

“Good exhibition and some great stories from the old days. Loved the Maggy Brown story.”

 

This project has received funding support from the AHRC Impact Acceleration Account at Queen's University.