The Electrification of the Rural Irish Home: Housewives, Electrical Products and Domesticity in the 1950s and 1960s
Lead Research Organisation:
Kingston University
Department Name: Sch of Critical Studies, Creative Ind
Abstract
Domestic electric products only became widespread in Ireland after World War II as a result of the rural electrification project carried out by the Electricity Supply Board (ESB). These products were seen as symbols of modernity and liberation in other countries, but rising standards actually created more work for the housewife, with ideas of female self-worth becoming tied up in domestic labour. This project will use oral history, archival research and object analysis to investigate the meanings of these imported electrical products in rural Ireland in the 1950s and 1960s, particularly in relation to dominant Catholic attitudes to women and domestic work, emphasising the sole social role of women as remaining in the home. This project builds on the PIs existing PhD research on design, electrical technology and national identity in 1920s Ireland.
The project will engage in project partnership with the National Museum of Ireland Country Life (NMI), the main centre for research into the material culture of rural Ireland, and includes an intergenerational oral history project with members of the Irish Countrywomen's Association (ICA). It will work with the organisation historically responsible for rural electrification, the ESB, civic and third sector organisations for the elderly and museums with electrical product collections, in order to promote collaboration, knowledge exchange and community engagement. It is extremely important that this oral history research be carried out now, as this generation of women are in their 70s and 80s, and it is vital to record their first-hand testimony now. It will also produce creative and academic outputs, including a website, social media, exhibition and events programme, which will allow elderly women's voices to be heard and valued in a public forum and contribute to their wellbeing. It is also very timely from an academic point of view, due to the increasing interest in post-war domesticity in Irish history and area studies, where object-based analysis is not well developed, and the project will foreground the usefulness of design historical methods in understanding the materiality of post-war life.
The research will be of direct interest to the generation of women who ran such homes, as well as a wider public in Ireland and the Irish diaspora who grew up in such interiors. The initial direct benefit would be to elderly Irish women by contributing to their wellbeing and sense of value in the community. The research collaborations with museums will also benefit them by aiding them in their interpretation of their collections and emphasising their contemporary relevance. Other beneficiaries would be age charities and nursing homes, as the oral history research could later be incorporated into reminiscence therapy, both in residential care and in the community.
In terms of collaboration and leadership activities, the overall project would be relevant to researchers in the fields of Irish design, technology and design history, Irish history and Irish Studies, as well as researchers working on the home in other national contexts (e.g. UK, Denmark, USA, etc.); also anyone with an interest in the cultural context of electrical products, including product designers, engineers and interior designers. The study will be located within design history, but with influence from the history of technology and social history, making use of oral history, archival research and object analysis. It would also contribute specifically to the national discourse on Irish design, opening it up to an engagement with issues concerning domesticity and the role of women and technology. It would be the first research project of this scale on Irish design history, and by expanding the outputs past academic publication, would provide an example of best practice for researchers in both Irish design history and for other researchers considering material objects in a historical context.
The project will engage in project partnership with the National Museum of Ireland Country Life (NMI), the main centre for research into the material culture of rural Ireland, and includes an intergenerational oral history project with members of the Irish Countrywomen's Association (ICA). It will work with the organisation historically responsible for rural electrification, the ESB, civic and third sector organisations for the elderly and museums with electrical product collections, in order to promote collaboration, knowledge exchange and community engagement. It is extremely important that this oral history research be carried out now, as this generation of women are in their 70s and 80s, and it is vital to record their first-hand testimony now. It will also produce creative and academic outputs, including a website, social media, exhibition and events programme, which will allow elderly women's voices to be heard and valued in a public forum and contribute to their wellbeing. It is also very timely from an academic point of view, due to the increasing interest in post-war domesticity in Irish history and area studies, where object-based analysis is not well developed, and the project will foreground the usefulness of design historical methods in understanding the materiality of post-war life.
The research will be of direct interest to the generation of women who ran such homes, as well as a wider public in Ireland and the Irish diaspora who grew up in such interiors. The initial direct benefit would be to elderly Irish women by contributing to their wellbeing and sense of value in the community. The research collaborations with museums will also benefit them by aiding them in their interpretation of their collections and emphasising their contemporary relevance. Other beneficiaries would be age charities and nursing homes, as the oral history research could later be incorporated into reminiscence therapy, both in residential care and in the community.
In terms of collaboration and leadership activities, the overall project would be relevant to researchers in the fields of Irish design, technology and design history, Irish history and Irish Studies, as well as researchers working on the home in other national contexts (e.g. UK, Denmark, USA, etc.); also anyone with an interest in the cultural context of electrical products, including product designers, engineers and interior designers. The study will be located within design history, but with influence from the history of technology and social history, making use of oral history, archival research and object analysis. It would also contribute specifically to the national discourse on Irish design, opening it up to an engagement with issues concerning domesticity and the role of women and technology. It would be the first research project of this scale on Irish design history, and by expanding the outputs past academic publication, would provide an example of best practice for researchers in both Irish design history and for other researchers considering material objects in a historical context.
Planned Impact
The PI will engage with collaborators such as the Electricity Supply Board (ESB), the National Museum of Ireland, Country Life (NMI) and civic organisations such as Age & Opportunity and the Irish Countrywomen's Association (ICA), as well as Irish nursing homes. The project will relate to a number of groups:
1) The project's main impact will be with elderly Irish women who were rural housewives in the 1950s and 1960s, affirming the importance of their life experiences to Irish society and improving their well-being. This will partly be through their involvement with the oral history aspect of the project, but also the programme of arts and heritage events running in conjunction with the exhibition. It is envisaged that the exhibition event programme will include events co-ordinated in conjunction with Age & Opportunity projects such as the Wandering Methods art project responding to exhibition objects, and the yearly Bealtaine festival of creativity in older age.
2) The main benefit to civic institutions such as the ICA and nursing homes will be to their members, residents and staff, both young and old. The communities of older women represented above are central to this project and will foreground the value of their life experience and value, to the younger members of their community and to wider civic society. Charity organisations such as Age & Opportunity will be aided in fulfilling their goal of inspiring older people to their full potential, by facilitating opportunities in arts and culture, as above. The use of social media not just to disseminate updates and information about the project, but to crowdsource products and additional interviewees is likely to come through the younger relatives and friends of such women, helping to cement intergenerational links.
3) The project will impact public sector organisations including the Electricity Supply Board (ESB), whose archive collects material relating to the semi-state's organisational history, but relies on external academics to interpret and disseminate its collection of material on electricity and electrification in Ireland. As the main archival and object source, this project will play an important role in interpreting their collection for the previous groups mentioned above and the general public.
4) Museums with collections of domestic electrical products will particularly benefit from the exhibition output, contributing to their understanding of their own collections, as well as exhibiting them to interested publics. The curated exhibition in the NMI Castlebar will increase their visitor numbers and create employment in the museum sector in rural Ireland, including the engagement of a professional exhibition designer to materialise the final exhibition. The series of public talks by the PI and other stakeholders will enhance the impact of the exhibition and develop further dialogue on issues surrounding domestic electrical products, the role of women in the home and aging with dignity.
5) The project will also impact on a larger section of the general public, contributing to the ongoing public debate about the role of women in Irish society. This wider audience will be engaged through the exhibition and the associated event programme, as well as through the website, social media and coverage in the national media (e.g. The Irish Times and RTÉ).
1) The project's main impact will be with elderly Irish women who were rural housewives in the 1950s and 1960s, affirming the importance of their life experiences to Irish society and improving their well-being. This will partly be through their involvement with the oral history aspect of the project, but also the programme of arts and heritage events running in conjunction with the exhibition. It is envisaged that the exhibition event programme will include events co-ordinated in conjunction with Age & Opportunity projects such as the Wandering Methods art project responding to exhibition objects, and the yearly Bealtaine festival of creativity in older age.
2) The main benefit to civic institutions such as the ICA and nursing homes will be to their members, residents and staff, both young and old. The communities of older women represented above are central to this project and will foreground the value of their life experience and value, to the younger members of their community and to wider civic society. Charity organisations such as Age & Opportunity will be aided in fulfilling their goal of inspiring older people to their full potential, by facilitating opportunities in arts and culture, as above. The use of social media not just to disseminate updates and information about the project, but to crowdsource products and additional interviewees is likely to come through the younger relatives and friends of such women, helping to cement intergenerational links.
3) The project will impact public sector organisations including the Electricity Supply Board (ESB), whose archive collects material relating to the semi-state's organisational history, but relies on external academics to interpret and disseminate its collection of material on electricity and electrification in Ireland. As the main archival and object source, this project will play an important role in interpreting their collection for the previous groups mentioned above and the general public.
4) Museums with collections of domestic electrical products will particularly benefit from the exhibition output, contributing to their understanding of their own collections, as well as exhibiting them to interested publics. The curated exhibition in the NMI Castlebar will increase their visitor numbers and create employment in the museum sector in rural Ireland, including the engagement of a professional exhibition designer to materialise the final exhibition. The series of public talks by the PI and other stakeholders will enhance the impact of the exhibition and develop further dialogue on issues surrounding domestic electrical products, the role of women in the home and aging with dignity.
5) The project will also impact on a larger section of the general public, contributing to the ongoing public debate about the role of women in Irish society. This wider audience will be engaged through the exhibition and the associated event programme, as well as through the website, social media and coverage in the national media (e.g. The Irish Times and RTÉ).
People |
ORCID iD |
| Sorcha O'Brien (Principal Investigator / Fellow) |
Publications
O'Brien, Sorcha
(2017)
'Made in Ireland'? National narratives and hybrid identities in Irish design history
in Writing Visual Culture
O'Brien, Sorcha
(2021)
In a New Light: Histories of Women and Energy
O'Brien, Sorcha
(2020)
Our Own Memories: Women's Experiences of Rural Electrification
in RCC Perspectives
Sorcha O'Brien
(2020)
Kitchen Power
in The Modernist Magazine
| Title | Electric Irish Homes textile art project |
| Description | As part of the larger research project, I worked with Age & Opportunity to commission a textile artist, Anna Spearman, to work with a group of older women in the Castlebar area, close to the museum. Anna worked with this group to develop a textile-based response to the exhibition themes, using oral history and storytelling to draw out their own memories of and responses to rural electrification. They produced a number of individual 2D embroidered pieces, individual 3D knitted and crocheted pieces, as well as a collaborative multi-media banner. They also produced a screenprinted DIY embroidery kit based on four of the individual pieces, which was sold in the museum shop and at events. The exhibition also included a ten minute video documenting the process, produced by photographer Brian Cregan. |
| Type Of Art | Artistic/Creative Exhibition |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Impact | The project has fostered inter-generational understanding and opportunities for creative exchange and growth, with tangible social and well-being benefits. The project enabled creative intervention with older women in Irish society, highlighting their lived experience and craft skills. It has had a documented impact on the wellbeing and self-esteem of the textile art participants, who have been interviewed as part of a 10 minute film by Brian Cregan, and have responded positively in an anonymous survey. The textile art showcase held in May 2019 as part of the Bealtaine festival had one of the biggest audiences ever at the NMI Country Life, and a radio interview by Dr. O'Brien and participant Noreen Durken in May 2019 prompted a number of phone calls to the radio station from listeners reminiscing about their own experience with rural electrification. The installation was part of the Kitchen Power exhibition until it finally closed in December 2020 (with two periods of closure due to COVID-19 restrictions), and the individual pieces are being returned to their creators, while the group piece has been donated to the Castlebar ICA group which the majority of participants are members. The project has also involved the creation of textile kits based on participants' artwork, emerged as part of the creative process. The kits were sold in the museum shop, and finished pieces were to be photographed by their makers and uploaded to the museum website. It is envisaged that this will confirm the value of the participants creative work, and allow further opportunities for other crafters to showcase and receive recognition for their own skills and experiences, although this has so far been interrupted by COVID. |
| URL | https://www.museum.ie/en-IE/Collections-Research/Folklife-Collections/Kitchen-Power/Kitchen-Power-On... |
| Title | Inclusion in AHRC @ LDF exhibition |
| Description | My research project was included in the AHRC display Design Research for Change at London Design Festival, in October 2018. Images from my research were used as part of a display which documented the range and breadth of 67 AHRC-sponsored design research projects. |
| Type Of Art | Image |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Impact | Broader awareness of the project amongst other design researchers and designers visiting London. |
| URL | https://www.londondesignfair.co.uk/features/design-research-for-change |
| Title | Kingston Research Week audio installation |
| Description | The audio presentation showcased a number of the Electric Irish Homes oral history recordings collected to date, alongside photographs of the participants and contextual images from the research project. It ran for the duration of the KU Research Week, as part of the Knights Park exhibition of Faculty research work. |
| Type Of Art | Artistic/Creative Exhibition |
| Year Produced | 2017 |
| Impact | Broader understanding of the project amongst Kingston staff, postgraduate and undergraduate students |
| Title | Kitchen Power exhibition |
| Description | The Kitchen Power exhibition is the result of O'Brien's AHRC-funded (2016-19) research into the effects that rural electrification had on the rural Irish home of the 1950s and 1960s. Focusing on the kitchen as the main site of meaning, the exhibition uses electrical appliances and oral history clips as ways to investigate the meanings surrounding electricity, domesticity, gender roles and household work in rural Ireland. The exhibition of 45 archival objects, commissioned by O'Brien and co-curated by O'Brien and Campbell, ran for one year in the National Museum of Ireland - Country Life and also included a reconstructed 1950s show kitchen and commissioned textile art works made by local women, 36 individual and one collaborative pieces. The exhibition ran from July 2019 until March 2020, when the museum was closed due to COVID-19, and was reopened from July-September 2020 and November-December 2020, having had its run extended twice past the original 6 month duration. |
| Type Of Art | Artistic/Creative Exhibition |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Impact | Changes to Museum Working Practices The curation of the exhibition spearheaded a number of developments in museological practice, particularly internal museum processes, as well as a shift in emphasis for NMI Country Life from folklife to social history. Historical issues with communication between departments were addressed by an active regular team meeting, which kept the project team informed of developments and allowed potential issues to be flagged at an early stage, e.g. storage space for large appliances during conservation. The role of Dr. O'Brien as an external curator was instrumental in highlighting issues with internal communication with management, including the role of curators in exhibition titling. The collaboration also highlighted issues with procurement and purchasing, as well as understaffing and the absence of a dedicated exhibition manager on the site. Discussions with the curators and Head of Collections have meant that internal museum processes have been revised as a result. Changes in Museum Collecting Policy The development of the Kitchen Power exhibition from 2015-19 also spearheaded the move of the NMI Country Life from its existing emphasis on folk life, to that of social history. The Keeper of Country Life Anthony Candon was instrumental in negotiating the partnership between Dr. O'Brien and the Museum, and in broadening the collecting and exhibition policy past 1950, and to include mass manufactured objects as well as hand-made. This was evident in the National Treasures exhibition, which ran briefly in 2018, which showcased crowd-sourced items from the 20th century, but was developed further with the inclusion in the Kitchen Power of everyday, mass manufactured domestic items, such as kettles and vacuum cleaners. The beneficiaries here are the staff of the National Museum of Ireland, but also their visitors, who are being exposed to a greater range of Ireland's material culture. This impact will be evidenced by the 2018 NMI Master Vision statement, as well as statements from NMI staff. Enabling Creativity in Older Irish Women The project enabled creative intervention with older women in Irish society, highlighting their lived experience and craft skills through the textile art project. A group of 15 older Mayo women worked with artist Anna Spearman (commissioned through Age & Opportunity) to develop a process-led project to create individual and group textile artworks. The artwork produced was based on the participants' life experiences and memories of life before and after rural electrification, which emerged as a definite generational watershed. The exhibition will open in July 2019, but based on preliminary responses, it has already had a documented impact on the wellbeing and self-esteem of the textile art participants, who have been interviewed as part of a 10 minute film by Brian Cregan, which will be displayed as part of the exhibition. The textile art showcase held in May 2019 as part of the Bealtaine festival had one of the biggest audiences ever at the NMI Country Life, and a radio interview by Dr. O'Brien and participant Noreen Durken in May 2019 prompted a number of phone calls to the radio station from listeners reminiscing about their own experience with rural electrification. The project has also involved the creation of textile kits based on participants' artwork, emerged as part of the creative process. The kits were sold in the museum shop, and it is envisaged that this will confirm the value of the participants creative work, and allow further opportunities for other crafters to showcase and receive recognition for their own skills and experiences. Enabling Wellness in Older Irish Women The oral history interviews involved 60 participants in total, most of whom were older Irish women who remembered rural electrification, but also included ESB demonstrators, area organisers and sales staff. The interviews were carried out on an intergenerational basis and interviewers were given recording equipment and oral history training. Clips from the oral histories will be included in the exhibition, as well as the publications, and interviewees have already reported impact of increased confidence and feelings of value in the community. A survey of all participants establishes the positive effect on their wellbeing and creativity. The memory book which was present in the exhibition until March 2020 (removed as a precaution against COVID-19) also acts as one record of wider visitor responses, as a planned visitor response survey was cancelled due to the closure of the museum under COVID restrictions. |
| URL | https://www.museum.ie/Country-Life/Exhibitions/Current-Exhibitions/Kitchen-Power-Women-s-Experiences... |
| Description | The initial insight was that most of the changes in Irish homes happened in the kitchen, so the focus of the project was shifted to the kitchen. The existing narrative has been that all appliances were imported into Ireland in this period, but several small factories making domestic electrical appliances were found, such as Couper Works in Wicklow and Aibhleisi Eireannach Teo (AET) in Louth. The range of appliances available in Ireland was very limited, compared to the UK and Europe, largely due to poor economic circumstances. Irish advertising of appliances borrowed liberally from post-war British and American approaches, presenting an aspirational view of clean, modern fitted kitchens, and a stylish housewife. The ESB demonstrators played an important role in mediating electrical technology to rural women, more so than male 'experts' from the ESB. The Irish Countrywomen's Association played an important role in collaborating with the ESB to provide training, knowledge and advice at local level. Advice literature played a smaller role than face-to-face discussion. The fitted kitchen did not become popular in Ireland until the 1970s, and most electrified kitchens in the 1950s and 1960s were of a hybrid type, with traditional hearth-focused layouts and free-standing appliances. There were persistent concerns about the price of electricity and a high proportion of restricted installations (a light in each room and one plug in the kitchen), due to poor economic circumstances, which contributed to the slow take-up of a limited range appliances. Overall, women's reactions to rural electricity were much more positive than men's. This included persistent narratives of it relieving 'drudgery', and of the light being described in religious terms ('the light from heaven'). Rural electrification had little effect on traditional gender roles in rural Ireland, as women used their free time to carry out more work, often textile production. Curatorial findings A wide variety of objects have survived from this time period, allowing the narrative to be mostly shaped by the ideas and issues. The exception was the lack of surviving ESB demonstrators uniforms and Solas brand light bulbs, which were represented graphically, rather than by objects. Rural electrification is remembered positively by elderly women in rural Ireland today, although nostalgia for pre-electric cooking (but not washing) remains. It is seen as a communal watershed in their lives, despite variations in class, age and geographical location. Collaborative textile work produced positive responses from the project participants. The memory book in the gallery continued to provoked memories and reminiscences from an older generation throughout the run of the exhibition, as well as comparisons from younger and overseas visitors. |
| Exploitation Route | These outcomes will initially be taken forward by Irish design history, influencing the work of other scholars. They will also influence museum practice in Ireland and abroad, to include consideration of mass produced objects as a form of material culture. The NMI, ESB and the ICA have already reported influence on their collecting policies, as well as their consideration of oral history. |
| Sectors | Creative Economy,Education,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| URL | https://electricirishhomes.org/ |
| Description | The project has had two main areas of impact, one in museum practice, and the second in community-based social well-being. informed changes to museum practices related to the documentation, collection and social/historical understanding of design, domesticity and electrification post-1950, leading to a major exhibition opened in July 2019. The project has been instrumental in changing the emphasis of the Country Life division of the National Museum of Ireland from a folklife approach to one that embraces the social history and material culture of Ireland post-1950. Through oral history and by working with women's groups and crafts organisations, Dr O'Brien fostered greater inter-generational understanding and opportunities for creative exchange, with tangible social and well-being benefits for the participants. Both oral histories and craftwork are showcased in the exhibition, emphasising the importance of the life stories of older Irish women to visitors of all generations. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2017 |
| Sector | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| Impact Types | Cultural,Societal |
| Description | A Permanent Home for the Letterfrack Kitchen, in An Grianan, Co. Louth |
| Amount | € 1,000 (EUR) |
| Organisation | Irish Countrywomen's Association |
| Sector | Public |
| Start | 04/2020 |
| End | 04/2020 |
| Description | Design History Society - Virtual Event Award 2020 |
| Amount | £180 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Design History Society |
| Sector | Learned Society |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2020 |
| End | 09/2020 |
| Description | Electricity Supply Board exhibition funding |
| Amount | € 10,000 (EUR) |
| Organisation | Electricity Supply Board Group |
| Sector | Private |
| Country | Ireland |
| Start | 04/2019 |
| End | 07/2019 |
| Title | Community Oral History Interviewing |
| Description | The 63 interviews have been carried out on an intergenerational community basis, initially through the facilitation of the ICA guilds. This involved training one (or two) younger women from the community in oral history recording techniques, and providing them with the recorders and other tools to carry out the project. They then carried out the interviews, and the recorders were sent back to the PI, who organised transcription and editing of the files, and sent back copies of the recordings to the interviewees, for their own use, according to best practice in the field. |
| Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | This research method has a direct impact on both the interviewers and interviewees, contributing to their wellbeing and sense of value in the community, as well as strengthening community links. |
| Title | Oral history interview database |
| Description | This database consists of oral history interviews conducted both by the PI and by local interviewers, who have been trained in oral history techniques by the PI and National Museum staff, as outlined in the project data management plan. It includes WAV files of the interviews, PDF scans of the consent forms, TIFF photographs and RTF transcripts of the interviews. It holds 63 interviews in total. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | This database will be used as source material for the main project outputs (a monograph and exhibition in the National Museum of Ireland), feeding into the impacts resulting from these outputs. On publication of the monograph, copies of the database will be transferred to the National Museum of Ireland and the ESB Archive, and access by researchers and permission to use will be managed long term by the National Museum. |
| URL | http://electricirishhomes.org/oral-history/ |
| Description | Age & Opportunity |
| Organisation | Age & Opportunity |
| Country | Ireland |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | I bring my skills in historical research and analysis, and the oral history project with older women, which forms the basis of the textile art project that A&O ran in conjunction with the National Museum of Ireland in 2018/19 and was on display there from July 2019 to December 2020. I led the entire project, and worked with Anna Spearman, the commissioned artist, as well as directly with the project participants. Some of this has been as part of project workshops, and some of it has been as part of public-facing events as part of the 2019 and 2020 Bealtaine festival of creativity in older age, run by Age & Opportunity. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Age & Opportunity are an organisation that promotes creativity in older age. They worked with me to commission a textile artist, Anna Spearman, to work with a group of older women around the Castlebar area on a textile art project, as part of my larger research project. This project was showcased in the National Museum of Ireland as part of the Bealtaine Festival 2019, a one-day event run in May 2020 as part of Bealtaine 2020, and in the Kitchen Power exhibition until December 2020. |
| Impact | Included in the Kitchen Power exhibition is some of the textile art work produced by the group of older women, who worked with artist Anna Spearman on the textile art project. This includes individual embroidered textiles, individual knit and crochet 3D work, and a collaborative mixed media banner, as well as sketchbooks. It also includes a screenprinted DIY textile art kit based on four individual pieces. Disciplines include textiles, community art, storytelling, printmaking and oral history. |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | Electricity Supply Board |
| Organisation | Electricity Supply Board Group |
| Country | Ireland |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | My research project which is largely about the ESB corporate history, and uses their corporate archives as a main source. I bring a level of skill in historical analysis and contextualisation that their staffing does not cover, as well as the ability to collect a number of oral history interviews about their corporate history. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The ESB Archive has been my main research source, including historical documents, photographs, pamphlets and an in-house magazine. They also loaned a number of objects and video footage to the Kitchen Power exhibition, and has collaborated on installing a touch screen version of their online map showing when each area in Ireland was electrified. They have publicised both the project and the exhibition through their media channels, and provided €10,000 of additional funding to the museum exhibition in 2019, and €500 towards the cost of moving the Letterfrack kitchen to a permanent home in An Grianan, Co. Louth. The Senior Archivist, Deirdre McParland, has also given a public talk at the museum, as part of the exhibition programming. I have recently published a book chapter on the project, and am working on the monograph, and the ESB continue to support me with archive information and free image permissions. |
| Impact | Kitchen Power exhibition, as well as social media and web publicity Permanent installation of the Letterfrack kitchen in An Grianan, Co. Louth Ongoing archival and image permission support |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | Irish Countrywomen's Association |
| Organisation | Irish Countrywomen's Association |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | As part of the oral history part of the research project, I did a number of interviews and coordinated the rest, many of which were with ICA members. I organised the textile art project, which was led by commissioned artist Anna Spearman, and I have curated the textile art work included in the exhibition. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The ICA have been involved with the project since the start, with the involvement of a number of their members with the oral history project. About half of the textile art project participants got involved through the ICA, and the kick-off workshops were held in their training college An Grianan, in County Louth. Helen Rutter, intially the North-East Coordinator and now the Treasurer, has sat on the project advisory board, and we organised a permanent home in the ICA's training college premises An Grianan, in Co. Louth, for the GMIT Letterfrack model kitchen, which was installed in summer 2020 and now in daily use. The large textile art piece created as part of the project has been given to the Castlebar ICA guild, for display in their meeting hall, and individual pieces have been returned to their makers. |
| Impact | Textile Art Project The oral histories contribute to both the Kitchen Power exhibition and to the forthcoming monograph. A permanent installation of the Letterfrack kitchen in An Grianan, Co. Louth |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | National Museum of Ireland, Country Life |
| Organisation | National Museum of Ireland |
| Country | Ireland |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | I bring my background and skills as a design historian, in terms of research and analysis, as well as exhibition funding that is not available within the Irish museum sector. I have access to a robust level of academic discussion about the themes and ideas that the project focuses on, as well as networks that include academics, charities and other organisations in Ireland and in London. I also brought ideas and contacts or the education programme, and the publicity for the exhibition, as well as leading the co-ordination of this programme. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The museum contributed curatorial and conservation expertise, installation logistics, exhibition space and equipment, as well as their reputation within Ireland and access to their networks. The Kitchen Power exhibition was opened by previous President of Ireland Mary Robinson, which was enabled by the museum reputation, as well as the marketing department and external PR company. A national level of marketing and PR has been achieved as part of the collaboration, with interviews with RTE News (both television and radio), as well as national newspapers and radio. The education programme has been organised with the museum education department, and included public events for adults, schools and children, and an online academic symposium (after the pandemic started and in-person events were cancelled). I am still working on the monograph (delayed by the pandemic), and bring supported by the museum for image permissions and possibly a colour printing subvention. |
| Impact | Kitchen Power exhibition, and associated publicity and media. Disciplines include design history, curation, folklife and material culture, public education, marketing, |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | "The Light of Heaven to Our Souls': Rural Electrification and Domestic Light in Ireland |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Online presentation as part of the Light Switch online symposium, run from the Science Gallery Dublin, November 2020 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://dublin.sciencegallery.com/events/light-switch-an-online-symposium-exploring-the-loss-of-dark... |
| Description | 'Kitchen Power: Women's Experiences of Rural Electrification' by Dr Sorcha O'Brien. A Clare Reads Event |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Join Dr Sorcha O'Brien who will give a talk on rural electrification as part of the Clare Reads programme. Dr O'Brien is a Design Historian and curator of the Kitchen Power: Women's Experiences of Rural Electrification exhibition. Rural electrification is one of the main themes of This is Happiness by Niall Williams. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/library/events/library_events_mar.htm |
| Description | 'Made in Ireland'?: National Narratives and Global Networks in Irish Design History |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This paper was presented as part of the Design History Society 40th Anniversary Strand, in a panel titled 'Making and Unmaking National Identity: Design 'In', 'Of ' and 'From' Ireland', attended by an international group of design historians. It was followed by a discussion with the audience about design history methods and approaches, in relation to the treatment of national identity in both Western and non-Western nation-states. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://www.makingandunmaking.net/programme/ |
| Description | AHRC History Workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I gave a presentation at the AHRC History Workshop in March 2017, speaking about my experience of applying for the Leadership Fellow ECR funding, both in terms of the application process and my career trajectory. I also took part in two workshops at the same event: the first discussion focussed on the positioning of history as a discipline, and the second focussed on the peer review process and the practicalities of positioning applications in terms of impact and engagement. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Article in Irish Countrywomen's Association Newsletter |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | The Irish Countrywomen's Association (ICA) published an article in their April 2017 newsletter about the project, focusing on the involvement of Clones and Aghabog ICA groups in the oral history interviews. This newsletter is distributed to all ICA members on a national basis, with anything up to 10,000 Irish women receiving copies. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Brown Bread and Washing Machines: Nostalgia and Perspective in Irish Women's Experience of Rural Electrification |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This paper was given at the Oral History Network of Ireland annual conference, which took place in Galway and was on the theme of Work and Leisure. The paper was part of a session on Rural Lives, and focused on analysing the expressions of nostalgia in the oral history interviews collected to date. These were considered in light of Svetlana Boym's ideas about nostalgia, and the emotional connections to activities such as baking, compared to ones such as washing clothes. This was situated in terms of hard manual work and emotional context, both at the time and in post-Crash Ireland, where the Recession has introduced a new generation to living without luxury. The paper sparked a discussion about oral history interview methods, particularly in terms of briefing and supporting volunteer interviewers, and resulted in one of the other presenters volunteering to carry out interviews for the project in Wexford. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://www.oralhistorynetworkireland.ie/ohni-conferences/2017-conference/ |
| Description | Conference paper delivered at SAH 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | SAH is the Society for Architectural History and their annual conference was held in Pittburgh, USA. I took part in the conference as part of a panel on 'Electric Interiors from the 19th Century to Today', convened by Timothy Rohan from the University of Massachussetts Amherst, USA. My paper was titled '"The Light of Heaven to our Souls": Domestic Electrical Appliances in Rural Irish Kitchens of the 1950s and 1960s' and focused on the oral history responses to the introduction of electrical appliances into domestic Irish kitchens, particularly the emotional and religious dimensions. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.sah.org/2022/program |
| Description | Culture File interview - RTÉ Lyric FM |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | As part of the opening publicity for the Kitchen Power exhibition I was interviewed for a segment on the daily arts and culture feature Culture File on RTÉ Lyric FM. Lyric FM has approx 275,000 daily listeners. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.rte.ie/lyricfm/lorcan-murrays-classic-drive/programmes/2019/0723/1064845-lorcan-murrays-... |
| Description | DIT Gender & Design class |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | I was asked to give a class on the research project to students on an undergraduate module on Gender & Design. This included students from the BA Visual Culture, as well as studio BAs in Interior & Furniture Design and in Visual Communications. The class included a taught component, as well as individual discussion of example advertisements from the research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | DIT MA oral history class |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | I was asked to give a class on the use of oral history in design history practice to the DIT MA students of design and visual culture. This class included a taught component, as well as a practical interview sessions, where students tried out the type of questions and behaviour encouraged as best practice in oral history. This class was repeated in 2019, as well as 2018, with similar format and outcomes. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018,2019 |
| Description | Davis Now lecture respondant |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The Davis Now lectures are the 21st century version of the yearly Thomas Davis lecture series, which have run yearly by RTE since the 1950s. This year's lectures were edited by architectural historian Dr Ellen Rowley, who gave this lecture on 'Clearing Hovels and Building Homes: an Architectural History of Irish Housing'. I was one of the invited participants at the recording of the lecture, and contributed an on-air response to the lecture, based on my own research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.rte.ie/radio/radioplayer/html5/#/radio1/21688102 |
| Description | Domesticating Energy seminar, Cambridge |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The 'Domesticating Energy' seminar was run by the AHRC Material Cultures of Energy project, and was held in Pembroke College, University of Cambridge in May 2017. The seminar ran for two days and included international participants from Europe and the United States presenting current research on energy use in domestic environments, from 17th century firewood to solar panels. The papers sparked a lively discussion, both about the material discussed, but also about methodological concerns in the study of energy history, covering both quantitative and qualitative approaches. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | ESSHC: Electrical Demonstrators and Irish Countrywomen: Official and Voluntary Promotion of Irish Rural Electrification |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | I presented a paper at ESSHC on the two active groups of women involved in promoting rural electrification in Ireland in the 1950s and 1960s, as part of a conference panel titled 'Energising the Home: The Role of Women in Energy Choices'. This paper looked at the voluntary efforts of the Irish Countrywomen's Association and the female professional demonstrators employed by the Electricity Supply Board to act as peer ambassadors to rural Irish women. The paper looked at the different practical strategies that these two groups used to promote the advantages of electricity, and posed questions about female technical expertise in this time period. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://esshc.socialhistory.org/esshc-user/programme |
| Description | Egg Money documentary |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I was interviewed by Patricia Baker for her documentary 'Egg Money', which focused on the changing lives of women in rural Ireland. This documentary received funding from the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, and was aired on the national radio station Newstalk FM, which has approx 400,000 daily listeners. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://player.fm/series/newstalk-documentaries/egg-money-documentary-on-newstalk |
| Description | Electric Irish Homes Facebook account |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I have been running a project Facebook account since summer 2016, which documents my research progress and activities of partners, as well as disseminating related ideas and news. It is also used as a channel for interaction with other researchers, museums, art colleges and interested general public in relation to the project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016,2017 |
| URL | https://www.facebook.com/ElectricIrishHomes/ |
| Description | Electric Irish Homes Instagram account |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | I have been running a project Instagram account since late 2016, which documents my research progress and activities of partners, as well as disseminating related ideas and news. It is also used as a channel for interaction with other researchers, museums, art colleges and interested general public in relation to the project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016,2017 |
| URL | https://www.instagram.com/electricirishhomes/ |
| Description | Electric Irish Homes Twitter account |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | I have been running a project Twitter account since summer 2016, which documents my research progress and activities of partners, as well as disseminating related ideas and news. It is also used as a channel for interaction with other researchers, museums, art colleges and the general public in relation to the project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016,2017 |
| URL | https://twitter.com/electricIEhomes |
| Description | Electric Irish Homes project website |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The project website went live with four static pages (about, oral history, publications, exhibition) and a dynamically updated blog. This represents the current stage of the project, with later pages about the monograph and the creative programme planned, as well as the addition of audio oral history clips to the appropriate page. It has been well received and has already generated interest through social media channels. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://electricirishhomes.org/ |
| Description | Electric Irish Homes: A 5 Minute Overview |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The Irish Association of Professional Historians held a research and netowrking night on the 24th May 2018 in the National Library of Ireland, where PhD, post-docs and ECRs gave 5 minute presentations about their research, which was attended by a number of Irish historians, archivists and librarians. I presented an outline of the Electric Irish Homes project, pitched towards a professional audience. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | http://iaph.ie/2018/04/research-night-24th-may-2018-national-library-of-ireland/ |
| Description | Electric Irish Homes: Age & Opportunity Arts & Culture workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | These three workshops were run as part of an Age & Opportunity taster day for members of the Irish Countrywomen's Association at their headquarters at An Grianán, Termonfeckin, Co. Louth. It consisted of an introductory talk about the Electric Irish Homes project and about oral history, and the second half was an oral history workshop based around participants' memories of electric appliances. The workshops were attended by approx. 120 members of the Irish Countrywomen's Association, Irish women in the 40-80 age range, including a number who lived through rural electrification and all of whom live in areas electrified during the project. The sample oral history interviews which the women conducted in pairs formed a taster for the experience of interviewing and being interviewed, as well as a prompt to memory of experiences common to their peer group. I have since been contacted by participants who wish to contribute to the project, mainly through being interviewed as part of the oral history project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Exhibition talk to NCAD fashion, textile and jewellery students |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Exhibition talk to a group of undergraduates who were visiting the Kitchen Power exhibition the following week, as part of a research trip. It consisted of an overview of the exhibition themes, as well as some discussion of the process of curating. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Funding talk in University of Portsmouth |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This was a talk to Portsmouth staff and postgraduates about the process of applying for AHRC funding, focusing on my experience and observations of the process. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Irish Examiner interview |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I was interviewed by a journalist from the national newspaper, The Irish Examiner, as part of the launch coverage of the Kitchen Power exhibition. This interview was used in the subsequent article in the newspaper, which has a daily circulation of approx. 26,000. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/lifestyle/features/how-electric-powered-kitchen-appliance... |
| Description | Irish Independent interview |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I was interviewed by a journalist from the national newspaper, Irish Independent, as part of the launch coverage of the Kitchen Power exhibition. This was then included in the resulting article, linked below. The Irish Independent has a daily coverage of approx. 85,000 people. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/electric-heaven-how-women-escaped-drudgery-of-domesticity-3832... |
| Description | Kingston Research Week - research talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This was a research-in-progress talk given as part of Kingston University's Research Week programme of research talks. Attended by staff and postgraduate students from across the Faculty, it focussed on outlining the project and then discussing the use of oral histories as a method of research, complementing more traditional approaches such as archive research. The discussion across the whole panel covered interdisciplinary approaches to research, as well as some of the specific cultural and historical contexts of the project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Kingston University Research Workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | I took part in a Kingston University research workshop on applying for research funding, discussing my experience of the funding process with both research and teaching staff interested in applying for similar funding. This included a presentation, question-and-answer session, and a small group discussion, which gave very good feedback in terms of approaches and strategy. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Kitchen Power curator's talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I gave a curator's talk about the process of curating the Kitchen Power exhibition with Noel Campbell, my co-curator, in the National Museum of Ireland - Country Life. This was a behind-the-scenes look at the work involved in putting together an exhibition like this, particularly the collaborative nature of several parts of it. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Kitchen Power: Modernity, Tradition and Gender Roles During Irish Rural Electrification |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | My conference presentation as part of a panel in the Kitchen Power: National Parallels online symposium, September 2020, comparing the modernisation of the traditional kitchen in Ireland and South Korea |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.museum.ie/en-IE/Museums/Country-Life/Events/2020/092020/ONLINE-SYMPOSIUM-Kitchen-Power-N... |
| Description | Leeds Electrical History Research group |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | An online work-in-progress talk to the Leeds Electrical History group, which included staff and postgraduate students with a cross-section of interests in electrical history. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | MSt Dissertation symposium, University of Oxford |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | I was invited to speak about the research project at the Cambridge MSt dissertation proposal symposium, in June 2017. My section of the workshop included a presentation about my research project, and four student presentations, and a group discussion about each one in terms of content, focus and methodological tools. The students reported that the discussion about oral history and interview methods was particularly useful, as several of the overall group were using these methods for the first time. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Mise Eire conference on Irish design |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The Mise Eire conference was run by the Design and Crafts Council of Ireland, in order to consider the expression of collective identity in Ireland in relation to design and craft. I presented some of my project research as part of a panel on new research on Irish design. There was an audience of about 100 people, covering a cross-section of Irish designers, design historians and museum professionals. The response included a number of discussions with professional practitioners about the situating of their own practice in relation to the research, and some leads to undiscovered research material. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | http://miseeireconference.ie/ |
| Description | Modern Interiors Research Centre work in progress symposium |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | I presented a paper on my oral history research at the yearly work-in-progress seminar for my research group, to an audience of staff and postgraduate students. This focused on the methodological issues surrounding the oral history, and sparked a discussion about ethics and research methodology which was relevant to the work of other researchers present. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Modernism in the Home conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Modernism in the Home was an interdisciplinary conference on domesticity and the home as a site for engagement with modernity. As the conference was the week before the opening of the Kitchen Power exhibition, I gave a digital paper using Skype, which talked about the disconnect between aspiration and reality in the Irish rural kitchen of the 1950s and 1960s. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://modernisminthehome.wordpress.com/ |
| Description | Morning Ireland interview on RTE Radio One |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | As part of the opening publicity for the Kitchen Power exhibition, I was interviewed by Pat McGrath, the Western correspondent for RTE Radio One. This interview was broadcast on Morning Ireland, the daily current affairs show the morning of the exhibition opening, with a regular audience of approx. 500,000 people across the country. A number of people at the exhibition opening said they had come to the opening because they had heard about it on the radio. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.rte.ie/radio/radioplayer/html5/#/radio1/21590618 |
| Description | NCAD Product Design studio talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | I was invited by the NCAD Product Design staff to speak to their students as part of their weekly series of studio talks by visiting professionals. The talk was held in the Product Design studio and was attended by undergraduate and postgraduate students from both Product and Interaction Design, as well as staff from both courses. The discussions after the source focussed on the design heritage of Ireland, particularly mass manufacturing in the 1960s, and resulted in one staff member donating an object (a 1960s Irish-made kettle) to the NMI exhibition. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | NCAD talk on exhibition curation and collaboration to BA Visual Culture students |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | An invited talk to the BA Visual Culture in NCAD, as part of a module on collaboration in curating. I talked about the process of curating the exhibition, as well as the different groups involved, ranging from the museum, the cultural sector and third level colleges. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | National College of Art & Design - MA Design History & Material Culture |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | I gave an invited talk on my research project to the MA Design History & Material Culture run by the National College of Art & Design, Dublin, which focussed on the broader theoretical issues behind the project, as well as the methodological approaches, both standard and novel. This developed into a discussion of appropriate methodologies for design history research, and possible topics for students' own research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://www.ncad.ie/postgraduate/school-of-visual-culture/ma-design-history-and-material-culture/ |
| Description | Northern Standard newspaper article |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | As part of the oral history project running with members of the Irish Countrywomen's Association Clones Guild, I responded to a media query from the Northern Standard, which then ran an illustrated article about the project on the 2nd February 2017 edition of the newspaper. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | One City One Book public talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Public talk in Rathfarnham Castle as part of the Dublin One City One Book festival. The book chosen for 2019 was 'The Country Girls' by Edna O'Brien, and my talk was looking at rural electrification as a way to reduce emigration amongst young women in the 1950s. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | PRAM blog post - 'Research, 'impact' and an interesting ethical issue' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | My research was mentioned in a blog post on research impact in museums, which was written by Emily Pringle, an AHRC-funded researcher from the Tate. The post talks about the differences between working as a researcher for an academic institution and for an independent research organisation such as the Tate, and uses Electric Irish Homes as an example of research that works with the museum to develop an exhibition and book, rather than doing one and then the other. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | https://practitionerresearchintheartmuseum.com/2017/11/10/research-impact-and-an-interesting-ethical... |
| Description | Postgraduate class with MA Design History students, University of Oxford |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | I gave an invited lecture to the MSt History of Design students in Oxford University, part of which outlined the material that I have been working on, and part of which talked about methods and approaches, especially the use of oral history in design history. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.conted.ox.ac.uk/about/mst-in-the-history-of-design |
| Description | Postgraduate class with MA Design and Visual Culture students, TU Dublin |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | An MA class on my research project material, as part of a module called 'Making Ireland Modern', which looks at issues surrounding modernity and national identity in an Irish context. Part of the talk was about the research material, and part was about the methodologies used, particularly the use of oral history in design history. The student group included students from Ireland, as well as India, Mexico and Colombia, who are studying on the MA Interior Design, MA 3D Design and the MA Visual and Critical Studies. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.tudublin.ie/explore/faculties-and-schools/arts-humanities/art-and-design/study/postgradu... |
| Description | RTE One television news interview (1pm, 6pm and 9pm news) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | As part of the opening of the Kitchen Power exhibition, I was interviewed by Pat McGrath, the RTE One Western news correspondent. This interview was broadcast as part of a television news item on the 1pm, 6pm and 9pm national news on the 19th July 2019, and would be seen by approx. 500,000 people when live and digital broadcasts are included. The digital broadcast is linked below, and the news segment starts at approx. 33:30. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.rte.ie/news/player/six-one-news-web/2019/0719/ |
| Description | Research Talk - NCAD MA Design History and Material Culture |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | I gave a two hour class on the MA Design History and Material Culture course in the National College of Art and Design, Dublin, which formed part of a module on modernity and domesticity. This talk outlined the project structure, main research themes and looked at some of the theoretical issues emerging from the material, as well as issues of methodology. The class was also attended by staff on the MA and included a lively debate about design history in Ireland, as well as theoretical and methodological issues. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Research Talk - TVAD group University of Hertfordshire |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | I visited the University of Hertfordshire to give a research talk on the project to an audience of staff and postgraduate students across design history, design and architecture, and social history (Theorising Visual Art and Design researh group). This focussed on the oral history aspect of the project and outlined the overall project. I looked at some of the oral history material collected, its contribution to my current thinking on the project and the methodological implications of using oral testimony in conjunction with archival material. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.herts.ac.uk/research/centres-and-groups/tvad-theorising-visual-art-and-design/tvad-talks |
| Description | Research talk - BA Contemporary Visual Culture, Dublin Instititue of Technology |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | I was invited to speak to BA Contemporary Visual Culture students about my research, as part of a module on Real World Engagement. I was speaking partly about the research project, but mostly about how being a researcher works, both in career terms, but also as a day-to-day activity. The talk was also attended by BA Interior & Furniture Design students, and department staff and postgraduates. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Royal College of Art - Design History seminars |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | I gave an invited talk on my research project at the Royal College of Art research seminar, which is run jointly with the Victoria & Albert Museum. I am spoke about my research to an audience of postgraduate students and staff from the RCA and from other London universities, discussing both the content and methodology of the project, which developed into a discussion about methodology and approaches to similar topics. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Sorcha's Electrification Project |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The Irish Examiner newspaper published an article about the research project in the Farming section on Thursday 11th January, which was written by Helen O'Callaghan as part of her monthly column on the Irish Countrywomen's Association (ICA). The article based partly based on an interview with the PI, Sorcha O'Brien, and included quotes from the oral history interviews of project participants, a number of whom are members and officers of the ICA. The article has resulted in increased interest in the project, particularly in Munster, and has increased the number of participants involved in the area. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Student talk at St Angela's College, Sligo |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | An invited lecture to students on the BA in Home Economics, on Home Economics graduates as ESB demonstrators, focusing on their role as agents of change in Irish rural electrification. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Technology in Ireland conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This was a one day conference organised by the Institution of Engineering and Technology, to look at the history of engineering and technology in Ireland. My paper gave an overview of the project, including oral histories, and was well received by an audience of mostly engineers, many of whom shared their own memories of rural electrification. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | The Lord Mayor's Certificate in Oral History invited talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | I was invited to speak to the current class of students on the Lord Mayor's Certificate in Oral History run by Dublin City Council - this is a year-long evening course run in Dublin City Library & Archive, which gives formal and practical training in oral history to a high professional standard. I spoke to the class about my research project, about the content and methodology, and also the experience of doing oral history, and a lively discussion of the practicalities of sourcing and working with participants ensued. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | http://www.dublincity.ie/story/lord-mayors-certificate-oral-history-2018-2019 |
| Description | The Way We Were |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I was interviewed as an expert on Irish rural electrification and mid-20th century changes to the Irish home for RTE, the Irish national broadcaster, as part of a programme called 'The Way We Were', a social history documentary series, an episode on the home. Filmed in May 2021, it was screened in March 2022 on RTE1, with at least two repeat screenings since then. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021,2022 |
| URL | https://presspack.rte.ie/2022/03/07/the-way-we-were-new-series-2/?genre=54 |
| Description | Trinity College Dublin, Contemporary Irish History lecture series |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | The TCD history department run a very well-known series of historical talks, which are attended by both professional and amateur historians, as well as members of the general public with an interest in history. I was invited to speak to this group in November, and had a very engaged audience of approx. 100 people. The questions and discussion ranged from archival access to personal memories of rural electrification, as well as questions about methodology and approach. I was approached afterwards by the relatives of an architect that I am studying, and have had further contact with them and their archive of research material relating to her work. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.tcd.ie/trinitylongroomhub/whats-on/details/event.php?eventid=129038509 |
| Description | Western People newspaper interview |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I was interviewed by a journalist from the regional newspaper The Western People, as part of the launch coverage of the Kitchen Power exhibition. This interview was used in the resulting article, linked below. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://electricirishhomes.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Western-People-2019_07_22.pdf |
| Description | Women & Energy workshop, Munich |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This invited workshop in Munich ran over three days in the Rachel Carson Centre, and was used as a way of workshopping chapters for a forthcoming anthology, edited by Ruth Sandwell and Abigail Harrison Moore. It was a closed workshop, but had participants from several parts of Europe, as well as Canada, and the material discussed ranged across the role of women in energy transitions in Britain, Germany, Canada and Nigeria. The book chapters will be published by McGill University Press in 2020, as well as smaller pieces in the Carson Centre's publication 'Perspectives'. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Working for the Home: Past and Present |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | I was invited to take part in a symposium about the forthcoming referendum about the clause in the Irish Constitution about women in the home - this clause was in the original 1937 document, and implies that women's only role in society is as mothers and in the home. I was invited to speak on a panel of Irish women's historians, looking at the historical background to the clause and its effects on Irish society in the mid-twentieth century. The panel provoked a lively discussion about gender roles in Irish society, as well as further discussion on the role of the carer. I was later asked to give a talk to an oral history course, based on my talk presented here. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.tcd.ie/trinitylongroomhub/whats-on/details/event.php?eventid=131017722 |