Since the NHS was set up in 1948 thousands of women and men from Ireland have come to train and nurse in the UK.
Recruitment drives throughout the 1950s and 60s saw NHS staff travel around Ireland to interview and sign up mainly Irish teenage girls for nurse training. Irish Nurses in the NHS shares the experiences and lives of nurses who travelled from Ireland and helped build the health service over these decades and beyond.
In this series you'll hear from dozens of these nurses about their motivations to leave home, how they adapted to their new lives in Britain and what their training entailed, including many funny memories as well as some sad ones.
It will look at questions like what was it like to leave Ireland at 18 and arrive in a new and unfamiliar country? How were they welcomed and what was life like in Britain? This podcast series aims to answer these questions and brings to life the untold stories of Irish nurses in the NHS.
This podcast has come about as part of exciting collaboration with the London Irish Centre. It is based on research conducted by Professor Louise Ryan of London Metropolitan University and hosted by radio producer and retired nurse, Grainne McPolin.
Thanks to London Irish Centre; Irish Government department of Foreign Affairs; Irish Abroad Unit and Burdett Trust for Nursing, Liverpool University’s Institute of Irish Studies and the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation for their continued support.
Please note that the names of some contributors have been changed in order to protect their identities.
Credits:
Music: ‘Resonance’ by Amala Reidun Schlesinger & Paul de Grae
Assistant Production on episode 1: Five Elements Media
Branding & Marketing Kelly Crichton
Cover Design: London Irish Centre
Photos by the kind courtesy Bernie Naughton and Noreen Schierz (processed by Fiona Freund).
Studio Pat's Tracks Recording Studios Causeway Co Kerry
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Since the NHS was set up in 1948 thousands of women and men from Ireland have come to train and nurse in the UK.
Recruitment drives throughout the 1950s and 60s saw NHS staff travel around Ireland to interview and sign up mainly Irish teenage girls for nurse training. Irish Nurses in the NHS shares the experiences and lives of nurses who travelled from Ireland and helped build the health service over these decades and beyond.
In this series you'll hear from dozens of these nurses about their motivations to leave home, how they adapted to their new lives in Britain and what their training entailed, including many funny memories as well as some sad ones.
It will look at questions like what was it like to leave Ireland at 18 and arrive in a new and unfamiliar country? How were they welcomed and what was life like in Britain? This podcast series aims to answer these questions and brings to life the untold stories of Irish nurses in the NHS.
This podcast has come about as part of exciting collaboration with the London Irish Centre. It is based on research conducted by Professor Louise Ryan of London Metropolitan University and hosted by radio producer and retired nurse, Grainne McPolin.
Thanks to London Irish Centre; Irish Government department of Foreign Affairs; Irish Abroad Unit and Burdett Trust for Nursing, Liverpool University’s Institute of Irish Studies and the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation for their continued support.
Please note that the names of some contributors have been changed in order to protect their identities.
Credits:
Music: ‘Resonance’ by Amala Reidun Schlesinger & Paul de Grae
Assistant Production on episode 1: Five Elements Media
Branding & Marketing Kelly Crichton
Cover Design: London Irish Centre
Photos by the kind courtesy Bernie Naughton and Noreen Schierz (processed by Fiona Freund).
Studio Pat's Tracks Recording Studios Causeway Co Kerry
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Marking St Brigid's Day, we hear in this episode why Irish nurses were perceived as the steadfast embodiment of the caring profession that was at the heard of Britain's National Health Service.
During the 19th and 20th Centuries, swathes of Irish - born citizens travelled across the sea to find opportunity in Britain. While many depictions of Irish migrants were derogatory, the figure of the Irish nurse remains esteemed. Hardworking and friendly, Irish nurses were often well received
Irish families in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s were generally larger than today; so it wasn't unusual to have at least one nurse in the Irish family unit, however, lack of employment and difficulty in getting a nurse training place in Ireland drove many young women and men across the Irish Sea and into the arms of Britain's National Health Service
We are now at the halfway point in the Irish Nurses in the NHS story where we are following the trajectory of the lives of these nurses, how they were recruited into the NHS, leaving home, stories of life in the nurse's home, the uniform, nurse training, the wards and patients. But how were they perceived as Irish nurses in Britain? What was the X Factor that helped to create the image of the Irish nurse as indefatigable?
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
