Women in Mayo 1821-1851: A Historical Perspective

Irish women in the 19th century lived ‘at the sharp end of history’ (Boland) in a period marked by momentous developments in industry, transport, technology and trade. Not all of these worked in women’s favour. This book focuses on several facets of the lives of Mayo women, with their experiences of recurrent famines, including the Great Famine, changing patterns of migration, emigration and employment. By the end of the period, though, some had better accommodation and many were literate, having attended the local National Schools. From 1851 on, however, women struggled to regain their pre-Famine status in a society, where new technologies were largely regarded as a male preserve in spheres, such as agriculture, leading to much female unemployment. Women, who might have expected their earnings to confer status on them in a society which had a high regard for wages and salaries, were not accorded this status as their earnings were now classified as household income. The many adaptive strategies used by women to cope in a society in transition, where several changes impinged negatively on their lives in a culture of limitation, is of great historical and social interest.