Emigration has been one of the defining features of Irish life since the Great Hunger. Generations have been drawn to the United States in the hope of finding a better life across the Atlantic. Many succeeded but for some these dreams became nightmares. Over the last few years The Bad Bridget Project in Queens University Belfast by Dr Elaine Farrell and Dr Leanne McCormick has focused on criminal and deviant Irish women in North America. Now an award winning podcast and book, Leanne and Elaine join me in this episode share the stories they have uncovered. These include Annie Young a woman who lived in grinding poverty, the sex workers Maud Merrill and Marion Canning and the somewhat unbelievable Ellen Nagle a child prosecuted for being stubborn! Check out the Bad Bridget Podcast Get the book Bad Bridget: Crime, Mayhem and the Lives Irish Emigrant Women Become a supporter and get my exclusive Series on the Irish Civil War with Dr Brian Hanley Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ask this episode

“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.