10 episodes
Irish Nurses in the NHS Grainne McPolin & Louise Ryan
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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
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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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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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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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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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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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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 Reidun Schlesinger & Paul de Grae
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.