The Irony of the "Irish Bridget:"
Facing Frontiers and Forging Pathways for
Female Empowerment
" Group photo of Irish domestics." (Mayo County Library Site)
Diner, Hasia R. Erin's Daughters in America: Irish Immigrant Women in the Nineteenth Century. Baltimore, Johns Hopkins UP, 1993.
Name: Mary McCarthy Division: Junior
Category: Individual Website Student Composed Words: 1198
Process Paper Composed Words: 498 Length of Multimedia: 2 min., 18 sec.
Introduction
Young women, referred to as Irish "Bridgets," traveled across many "frontiers" as they emigrated from Ireland to America. Leaving behind their families and domestic lives, they came to America to become breadwinners for themselves and their families at a time when income was scarce in Ireland.
But like servants then and now, these women were often unseen other than as nameless, faceless workers. As a result, these women were often referred to only as “Bridget,” a common name for Irish women.
"Celtic Whistle Melody." www.freesound.org, uploaded by F-r-a-g-i-l-e, 28 May 2020, www.freesound.org.