Irish Nurses in the NHS

Grainne McPolin & Louise Ryan
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Irish Nurses in 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.    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.

Episodes

  1. Nurse's experiences of anti-Irish discrimination in Britain

    MAR 8

    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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    26 min
  2. Perception of Irish Nurses Working in Britain

    FEB 1

    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? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    15 min
  3. Caring for the Patients

    JAN 6 · BONUS

    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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    20 min
  4. Belts and Buckles

    11/18/2023

    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' Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    18 min

  5. 09/06/2023

    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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    17 min
  6. The Bright Lights of London

    08/09/2023

    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  Reidun Schlesinger & Paul de Grae  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    19 min

  7. 07/02/2023

    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  Reidun Schlesinger & Paul de Grae  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    30 min

  8. 07/02/2023

    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  Reidun Schlesinger & Paul de Grae  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    23 min

  9. 07/02/2023

    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  Reidun Schlesinger & Paul de Grae  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    19 min

  10. SEASON 1 TRAILER

    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 for more information.

    3 min

Trailer

About

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.

Information

  • Creator
    Grainne McPolin & Louise Ryan
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2024
  • Episodes
    10
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Grainne McPolin & Louise Ryan
  • Show Website
    Irish Nurses in the NHS

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