Revealing Leitrim women’s history: Stories of nurses and midwives sought for heritage project

North Leitrim Women’s Centre and Scéal Heritage are inviting the Leitrim community to share any stories, photos, memories or anecdotes they have of nurses and midwives from the county’s past.

“Leitrim Women Through Time,” a community heritage project led by North Leitrim Women’s Centre and Scéal Heritage, is gathering these memories for a summer event in collaboration with the National Museum of Ireland that will celebrate the lives of these remarkable women who made significant contributions to their rural communities.

Women’s history, especially that of rural women, is often overlooked in historical records. Leitrim Women Through Time aims to change that, honouring the sacrifices and contributions these women made.

Donna Gilligan of Scéal Heritage spoke about the importance of remembering these Leitrim women: “They’re a huge part of our past that has been overlooked and not recognised for the importance that they held. 

“These are women that were well loved and respected and carried out huge amounts of work,” she said.

Donna also shared the story of one Leitrim midwife they discovered who continued attending births well into her 90s, travelling by a pedal bike at a time where accessibility was limited.

She highlighted that for many women who couldn’t afford a doctor, these nurses and midwives were their only source of healthcare.

“These were really dedicated women who would be travelling hundreds of miles on a bicycle to attend sick people and to help women deliver children. 

“They haven’t been recognised for their importance on that side. They were dedicated to serving their communities and it was very varied,” she emphasised.

So far, people have come forward with some names of the past rural nurses and midwives, but the group is committed to gathering as many as possible to ensure a broad and inclusive representation of these women.

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Donna explained that they’re seeking to create a fuller picture of these women’s lives, with anecdotes and especially photographs playing a key role in their search.

“Getting photographs of the women are fantastic too, photographs trigger a lot of memories in people too. It’s really important for us to record these things because time passes quickly and if we don’t record this kind of history it will be lost in another generation.”

Last year, the group also explored the lives of Leitrim nurses and midwives by recording interviews with current and past nurses to learn about their lived experiences.

A voice for women, they are determined to share the often overlooked stories from the sector.

“Even today, nurses and midwives are still unsung heroes who work above and beyond in very difficult systems. Hospitals today are understaffed and underfunded, times don’t change that much really,” Donna said.

“It’s so important for us to understand our everyday history of what it’s like to live in a rural environment.”

If you have stories, names, photographs, or anything else that could help bring the stories of past Leitrim nurses and midwives to life, you can contact Donna via email at scealheritage@gmail.com

“It’s great to be able to contribute to these kinds of events and we want to tell as many stories as we can,” Donna concluded.

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