A fascinating insight into the contribution of Irish nurses

Irish Nurses in the NHS An Oral History

Edited by Louise Ryan, Gráinne McPolin and Neha Doshi

Published by Four Courts Press, Dublin

Priced: £17.50

THIS book, from the very beginning, points to a strong sense of collaborative in putting it together. Indeed, it takes two pages to thank a wide range of people and organisations including The Irish Voice.

Central to this work are the 45 nurses who agreed to partake in the oral history and generously allowed their stories to be heard. Whilst there were a small number of participants from Scotland, their perspectives are well outlined.

The focus of the study was on an older generation of nurses who were recruited between the 1940s and the 1970s. The study followed their careers from the inception of the NHS to recent times including the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the opening chapter the authors assert correctly that Irish nurses became the backbone of the NHS. Nursing opportunities were limited and expensive in Ireland whereas thousands of Irish nurses were actively recruited to hospitals in Britain with the promise of training, accommodation and pay.

The second chapter serves as a useful overview of Irish migration and especially that of women, which until this excellent study was limited.

The book follows the chronology of the careers of the participants and identifies the different factors that influenced the mobility of the nurses from the quest for adventure, to moving away from harsh economic conditions. British hospitals advertised extensively and, in some instances, undertook interviews in Ireland.

Arrival in Britain is explored with tearful departures but also a sense of adventure. Some of the group had family networks, but others quickly found friendship in the Nurses Homes. This included the experience of greater ethnic diversity which generally the participants appeared to take in their stride.

What followed was the beginning of their training which as one participant said the way of study was ‘learn, practice, learn practice.’ The training involved hard work and could be very demanding and usually onto the wards after a 4 to 6 week period of induction.

The participants remembered long hours, hard work and a strong sense of exactness whilst at a human level having to deal with washing someone naked for the first time as well as facing death. As they matured in their training the students were given more responsibility and it was usual practice for a third year student to be left in charge of a ward.

An excellent dimension to this experience is a chapter on the social lives of the student nurses. Despite very limited finances the participants took every opportunity to navigate new places with new friends. Dance halls and Irish Centres were some of the main attractions, but that depended on where you lived. Sympathetic bus drivers gave them free travel. This chapter also explores the return to Ireland for holidays at a time when flights were very expensive. Meeting future partners during their training was quite usual and many married young shortly after qualification.

Later chapters have a more diverse focus on how the nurses’ careers developed in different ways, career trajectories were rarely straightforward as marriage and parenthood intervened. Careers moved in different ways including in various parts of community nursing and nurse education whilst some took the opportunity to travel especially to the US and Canada.

A sensitive focus in chapter eight was about the experience of being Irish in Britain. Most of the participants felt valued, but some had to deal with the negative impact of the conflict in the North of Ireland and deep-rooted colonial prejudices. This became amplified during the IRA bombing campaigns and especially for those who were working in the cities that experienced the bombs.

Some very powerful and painful examples are provided and many remembered the ‘No blacks, no Irish, no dogs’ signs and dealing with anti-Irish remarks from patients. For most of the interviewees they had pushed away these memories until this study gave voice to those difficult times.

The final chapter of this excellent book reflects on the contribution of Irish nurses to the NHS. They seem to have been able to combine the hardworking environment with a strong caring approach. They managed to navigate a life full of fun with a degree of seriousness and conscientiousness summarised in the phrase ‘humanity and humility.’

The end of the book explores the issue of how appreciated—or not—the contribution of Irish nurses was. In their conclusion the authors reflect on the multi-faceted and complex nature of the 45 nurses who were interviewed and hope that their study will help to recognise the contribution of Irish Nurses to the NHS.

Overall this is an excellent book. It is never easy to analyse and present the findings from an oral history study. This has certainly been achieved in full measure and the book should take its place in the studies of the Irish diaspora in general and the nursing profession in particular. The team should also be commended on the range of outputs including a podcast series, documentary film, photographic exhibition and a series of reports and events.

James Kennedy trained as a nurse in London from the late 1970s and developed a career in nursing and health care management in London and Scotland. He has had a longstanding interest in local history and lives in the Trossachs