A new exhibition will celebrate the often under-appreciated contributions made by community midwives to maternity care in Ireland during the early 20th century. Research gathered by historian and healthcare assistant Emma Laffey will be put on display at the National Museum of Ireland – Country Life, at Turlough Park in Castlebar, Co Mayo. Titled Mary Anne Fanning: Remembering Our Community Midwives , it will feature the story of Ms Fanning, who was a district midwife and nurse who provided care in Kerry and Dublin.
Ms Laffey uncovered a number of details of Fanning’s life as part of her broader work in this area of local history. Her exhibit, An Bhean Ghluíne, was staged last year . The exhibition will also include research on midwives and nurses from Clare, Cork, Galway, Mayo, Tipperary and Wicklow supported by the work of the Irish Community Archive Network.
Born in 1880, Ms Fanning’s career spanned 48 years, as she worked in Kerry and Dublin. A number of dignitaries attended her funeral, from politicians to members of the GAA. Ms Fanning’s career included providing care to volunteers during the 1916 Rising.
According to her obituary, she attended to senior commander Thomas Ashe and other volunteers during the Rising. “Across her working life, she would have worked in all sorts of conditions due to the poverty of the period,” said Ms Laffey. “Houses would have no running water or electricity or sometimes no bedsheets, simply sacks sewn together.
” Items .
