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Career and Role in Developing the Antidote for the Childcare Crisis in Dublin in the late 1800s - 1900s
Rosa Mary Barrett had an influential role to play in developing a cure for the childcare crisis in Dublin and Ireland in the 1800s and early 1900s. By the 1870s, Barrett had become deeply involved in Dublin's philanthropic circles. Barrett is widely known for her work in founding the first children's creche in Ireland and her work with the NSPCC (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children).

When Barrett came to Dublin from her home in England, she understood that there was a large market for childcare within the different households across Ireland. The living conditions in Ireland in this time period were not that of a good standard. Barrett came to the conclusion that living conditions would be severely improved if the Mother of the family could go to work. In 1879 the first creche in Ireland was set up - "The Cottage Home for Little Children", in Kingstown, Dún Laoghaire, County Dublin. The creche was ideal for low income families as it only cost a penny a day, the home then expanded into an orphanage and by 1990 the home expanded into an orphanage that catered up to 50 children.

After founding the "The Cottage Home for Little Children", Barrett took an interest into the field of adoption legislation. This led to her detailed data study in the Journal of the Statistical and Social Inquiry Society of Ireland (1891). This study examined the adoption legislations throughout Canada, America and Ireland. This study was a piece of work which is still referenced often throughout academic writings of adoption legislation. In 1889, the Dublin Aid Committee was established by Barrett, this establishment led to the creation of the Irish branch of the NSPCC (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children). This made Barrett the founder of the NSPCC in 1889.

Throughout her career, Barrett often raised the issue of women’s welfare. She helped establish the Women's National Health Association which sought out to promote public awareness of the causes and effects on different diseases, for example, TB (Tuberculosis).