Thread 1/10: This remarkable photograph, taken for @NatGeo in 1927, tells a mini history of Ireland. It shows three generations of Irish women, who would have lived through the famine, the easter rising, independence and the civil war. 
2/10 Last year, Irish Central magazine discovered the youngest woman’s identity: Bridget Kane, from Lettergesh. Soon after this photo, she emigrated to Boston at 16, changing her name to Betty. Her family recognised her in the magazine years later. irishcentral.com/roots/history/…
3/10 Since then, Bridget’s descendants have regularly returned to the house, which is now used as an out house. She still has 18 living family members, including her three children.
4/10 The house is in the far reaches of Connemara, and would have been typical of small hold farmers at the beginning of the 20th century. You can take a gander at it yourself on Google maps here: google.fr/maps/@53.60052…
5/10 The whitewashed section of the house probably indicates living quarters, while the drystone side would be used for storage and animals. Houses like this often had a small loft built into one gable where the family slept. The rest would have been an open living area
6/10 Notice the stones holding down the roof thatch, protecting against the fierce Connemara wind. Although thatched cottages are a postcard cliché in Ireland, most of these cottages swapped them in for slate or iron roofs in the mid-twentieth century.
7/10 These ‘cabins’ were deliberately built small, low and with few windows to conserve heat. This made them largely incompatible with modern living, and the vast majority were abandoned in the 20th century. Commonly, a new house was built nearby, with the old converted to barns
8/10 The fact that the women are holding the ‘tools of their trade’ betrays the photographer’s rather old-fashioned conventions. A similar tendency can be seen in other photographs from the magazine:
9/10 Notice the Bridget’s bare feet. This would have been common for children and younger adults right up until the mid-20th century. The older women’s clothes wouldn’t have looked much different from those work throughout the 19th century. Cf. this engraving from 1870:
10/10 Note also the paving stones in the foreground. In our Great Hunger episode, Tim spoke about his surprise at finding paved roads under the grass in an abandoned famine village. This may better illustrate what he had uncovered. Take a listen today! theirishpassport.com/podcast/episod…
