Draft:Bad Bridget

Bad Bridget is a term coined by two historians based in Belfast, Queen's University Belfast's Dr. Elaine Farrell, and Ulster University's Dr. Leanne McCormick, to describe the women from the island of Ireland who were convicted of crimes abroad between 1838 and 1918.

The "bridgets" have been the subject of a podcast, exhibition and non-fiction book by Farrell and McCormick.

Background
Originally, both scholars were undergoing relatively similar different research regarding the same type of person (19th century Irish women in America). After the two of them got into a conversation, they realised that they were both doing similar research, eventually deciding to join forces.

Eventually they came up with the idea of the project Bad Bridget which looks at the criminal activity of Irish women in the 19th century. They are specifically looking at criminal Irish women in Boston, New York and Toronto. They chose the name Bridget because at the time it was a very common name for Irish women in the 19th century. It was also the derogatory term for Irish women who worked as servants in American homes. Contemporary newspaper cartoons frequently depicted Bridgets as sub-human, apish and inferior. . Under Irish culture, the name Bridget, derived from that of St Brigid evoked purity and virtue. . While under Northern American mass culture of 19th and early 20th centuries, it was the stereotype of the "blundering, drunken, quick-tempered and uncivilised 'Bridget'".

History
The project started when both researchers discovered 19th and early 20th century records suggesting Irish women outnumbered Irish men in prison in sertain regions.

Many of the Irish emigrants hoped for a fresh start and a happy life, but unfortunately for many of the women this was not the case. Being a sex worker was tied a lot with this too, a lot of the women when arriving in America had no money or no family. Some may have been planning to meet family when they arrived but due to the long journey and lack of communication it was often that they never got to. This led people to having no choice but to become prostitutes and work in brothels to have somewhere to sleep and get paid.

Notable women such as Lizzie Halliday have been featured by the project.

2020, Podcast
This is a five-episode podcast channel that tells the story of Irish immigrant woman whose American dream turned into a nightmare. Each episode takes around 22-34 minutes. The channel was released in December 2020, and can be accessed on Apple podcast and Spotify. This episode tells us how many young Irish girls and women, travelled unaccompanied to North America with a hope of raising their standard of living, and anticipations from parents especially mothers that obtain emigrant remittances back home. Many Irish girls crossing Atlantic working as prostitutes and sent money back home. However, their families probably do not know their immoral lifestyle may pose some hazard to their family reputation. Tragic stories happen to those emigrant girls and women unmarried and pregnant, after they were tricked and find themselves helpless. As Luddy noted in 'An agenda for women's history in Ireland, 1500–1900', 'Abortion, infanticide and abandonment were the methods most commonly used by women to get rid of unwanted children. The Irish have a long story with alcohol. This episode will introduce women who had broken the law being drunk. There are three most fascinating and interesting cases in this audio. A neighbor was murdered by a girl and then stole the house. A wife who suspects her husband sexually active with another woman. An Irish serial killer, Lizzie Halliday who was the first woman to be sentenced to death by electric chair in the United States.
 * Episode 1: Poverity
 * Episode 2: The sex workers
 * Episode 3: The unmarried mothers
 * Episode 4: The demon drink
 * Episode 5: The murderers

2022, Exhibition
The Bad Bridget Exhibition opened at the Ulster American Folk Park in Omagh on 15 April 2022.

Elaine and Leanne have been developing ideas for the exhibition since 2019 and in 2021, Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Follow-on-Funding was secured to implement the project.

The project, displaying over 150 objects, words, images, objects, smells and sounds, involved National Museums NI staff and objects and some from the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland.

2023, Book
After nearly 10 years of researching and writing, Bad Bridget: Crime, Mayhem and the Lives of Irish Emigrant Women was published by Penguin Sandycove on 26 January, 2023.

Impact
The project has been praised by historians Jennifer Redmond, Mary McAuliffe and has been described as "fascinating" by reviews in both the Sunday Independent and The Irish Times. Clodagh Finn of the Irish Examiner described it as "important", and broadcaster Ryan Tubridy felt that it would enrich any bookshelf.