Bad Bridget: Exploring the hidden lives of Irish emigrant women

Bad Bridget is the new book from historians Elaine Farrell and Leanne McCormick. It tells the unheard stories of Irish girls and women who emigrated to North America in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The book which follows the successful podcast series of the same name, is a culmination of over five years worth of research into the lives of these women who travelled across the Atlantic and didn’t quite find the American dream. The pair’s extensive research into police, court and prison records uncovers the types of criminal activity in which Irish women were involved, including drunkenness, sex work and murder. In this episode, Farrell and McCormick speak to Róisín Ingle about the Bad Bridget podcast series and the Irish women that history chose to forget. This episode was originally published in February 2021. The Bad Bridget book is out now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.