Since Britain's National Health Service was established in 1948 tens of thousands of Irish women and men left Ireland and went to train as nurses in the UK health service.
Recruitment drives throughout the 1950s & 60s saw NHS staff travel around Ireland to interview and sign up mainly Irish teenage girls for nurse training. The Irish Nurses in the NHS Podcast series shares the experiences and lives of nurses who travelled from Ireland and helped build Britain's national health service over these decades up to the present day.
In this series you'll hear from many of these Irish nurses; their motivations to leave home: how they adapted to their new lives in Britain and what their training entailed. The podcast series includes many funny memories as well as some heartbreaking stories.
It will look at questions of was it like to leave Ireland in your teens (literally) and arrive in a new and unfamiliar country - and that was in a time when there was no internet, mobile phones or computers! 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.
The Irish Nurses in the NHS podcast series and the broader Irish Nurses in the NHS Project would not have been possible without the generous contribution of the Irish nurses themselves who trusted us with their stories to whom we are indebted . The Irish Nurses in the NHS podcast series is hosted by Grainne McPolin (http://grainnemcpolin.com/) and produced in collaboration with Professor Louise Ryan (https://www.londonmet.ac.uk/profiles/staff/louise-ryan/) & Neha Doshi (https://www.londonmet.ac.uk/profiles/students/neha-doshi/)
(Neha Doshi)
The Irish Nurses in the NHS Podcast Series was produced in association with the Irish Government department of Foreign Affairs; Irish Abroad (https://www.dfa.ie/our-role-policies/the-irish-abroad/)Unit and the London Irish Centre (https://londonirishcentre.org/);
Thanks to Burdett Trust for Nursing (https://www.btfn.org.uk/), Liverpool University’s Institute of Irish Studies (https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/irish-studies/) Irish Community Care (https://www.irishcc.net/), Liverpool Irish Centre (https://www.liverpoolirishcentre.org/), Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (https://www.inmo.ie/) Buckinghamshire New University (https://www.bucks.ac.uk/about-us/our-staff/tom-mcgorrian) 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 (https://amala.ie/) Reidun Schlesinger & Paul de Grae
Assistant Production on episode 1: Five Elements Media
Assistant Production Episode 10 Mary Lavery-Carrig (https://creativelyspeaking.ie/)
Branding & Marketing Kelly Crichton (https://kellycrichton.com/)
Cover Design: London Irish Centre (https://londonirishcentre.org/)
Photos by the kind courtesy to Bernie Naughton and Noreen Schierz
Photos processed by portrait photographer Fiona Freund (http://www.fionafreund.com/)).
Voice Over Recording: Pat's Tracks Recording Studios (https://kerrymusic.ie/)
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In this final episode of the Irish Nurses in the NHS, the women describe how their nursing careers developed after training and how they made their mark on Britain's NHS
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8 Mar 2024
Nurse's experiences of anti-Irish discrimination in Britain
In this episode, we hear the first-hand accounts and negative experiences faced by the nurses, as Irish migrants in Britain and especially at the height of the Northern Ireland Troubles
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1 Feb 2024
Perception of Irish Nurses Working in Britain
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?
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6 Jan 2024
Caring for the Patients
Launching Episode 7 of the Irish Nurses in the NHS Podcast series on Women's Christmas; known as Nollaig na mBan in Ireland, we hear about the different hospital patients that the nurses cared for and how these experiences helped shape their future nursing careers.
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18 Nov 2023
Belts and Buckles
As Britain was emerging from World War 2, the nurse's uniform played a vital role in the public consciousness as a motif of authority and rank that was based on military discipline. It inspired public trust and patient confidence, the NHS was in full mobilization fortified by the tens of thousands of Irish nurses who were recruited into the ranks of frontline healthcare in Britain
Episode 6 of the Irish Nurses in the NHS Podcast Series, we hear the story of how the nurses' uniform was a dominant force that placed the nurse front and centre in the NHS in the early years and how the iconic image of the nurse's uniform has evolved over the years in 'Belts & Buckles'
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6 Sept 2023
Home Away from Home
Episode 5 of the Irish Nurses in the NHS Podcast Series, we hear the story of how the nurses' home was central to the recruitment and retention of tens of thousands of Irish nurses in to the NHS. The nurses in this episode recall the time when they lived in the nurses' home and how it felt like they were living in home away from home
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9 Aug 2023
The Bright Lights of London
Episode 4 of the Irish Nurses in the NHS Podcast Series looks at what the social life was like down through the decades from the early 50’s and the Teddy Boys through to the Swinging 60s that gives way to the 1970s Hippy Flower Power era and how the Irish girls still managed to have a social life of sorts despite the unstable political situation existing between Britain and Ireland that defined the 1980s.
Credits:
Music: ‘Resonance’ by Amala (https://amala.ie/) Reidun Schlesinger & Paul de Grae
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2 Jul 2023
The Liverpool Story
This episode of the Irish Nurses in the NHS Podcast Series is dedicated to the Irish nurses who migrated to Liverpool. We hear the stories about how they came to settle in the Merseyside city nicknamed the ‘Capital of Ireland’. We hear about the journey over to Liverpool on the cattle boat – Annie was only 17 years old when she took the cattle boat to Liverpool; the "Oh yes, loads of cattle on them, very little people on them but lots of cattle on them." We meet John, who is in his 90s, who followed his family to Liverpool and pursued a career in nursing in his early 20s. He speaks of the importance of the Irish Community Centre in bringing second and third generation Irish together; "I always say if it wasn’t for the second generation Irish, we wouldn’t have the club because they’re more active in organising." Other voices from the Liverpool story speak fondly about discovering the ballroom of romance upstairs in the Liverpool Odeon.
Credits:
Music: ‘Resonance’ by Amala (https://amala.ie/) Reidun Schlesinger & Paul de Grae
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2 Jul 2023
Becoming a nurse
This episode of the Irish Nurses in the NHS Podcast Series looks at what it was like to become a nurse in the NHS. Five nurses share with us their recollections of the highs and lows of their training. Mary, one of the nurses interviewed on this episode, talks about her motivations around nursing and how she refused, against her mother’s wishes, to train in a Catholic hospital, run by nuns in Ireland. She arrived not long after the end of World War II and the birth of the NHS. Her training was regimental yet she remembers some comedic moments she holds dear from her time training. Four more voices bring their stories of adjusting to their new lives and their memories of their training.
Credits:
Music: ‘Resonance’ by Amala (https://amala.ie/) Reidun Schlesinger & Paul de Grae
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
2 Jul 2023
Leaving home
In this first episode of the Irish Nurses in the NHS Podcast Series we meet 5 women who left their lives in Ireland to join the NHS. We hear about the challenges of becoming a nurse in Ireland which included a lack of training opportunities, the expense of such unpaid training and the nepotism that was common in Ireland at this time. We also hear about the journeys taken by these women and their first experiences on setting foot in the UK.
Credits:
Music: ‘Resonance’ by Amala (https://amala.ie/) Reidun Schlesinger & Paul de Grae
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
20 Jun 2023
Trailer - Irish Nurses in the NHS
The Irish Nurses in the NHS podcast launches this July to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the inception of the NHS.
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.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
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