TÚS
TÚS: Pregnancy and Giving Birth in Ireland, 1950-2020 is the first comprehensive historical investigation into the experience of pregnancy and childbirth in the Republic of Ireland, 1950-1990. Funded by the Taighde Éireann / Research Ireland Pathway Programme, the project is based at Trinity College Dublin and led by Dr Deirdre Foley.
About TÚS
TÚS: Pregnancy and Giving Birth in Ireland, 1950-2020
TÚS (‘beginning’ in Irish) is the first comprehensive historical investigation into the experience of pregnancy and childbirth in the Republic of Ireland, 1950-1990. This is the most transformative period on record in terms of where, when, and how women women gave birth. State provision of maternity care expanded dramatically in this period, but this remains under-examined by historians.
TÚS recovers and highlights women’s voices and experiences of pregnancy and childbirth, from detection to delivery. Employing an intersectional methodology, the project analyses the differing experiences of women in a network of maternity institutions historically dominated by Catholicism.
TÚS Team
Deirdre Foley (PI)
Dr Foley is a historian of modern Ireland with a particular interest in birth control, maternity care, and the legal status of women in the twentieth century.
Ella Armstong
Ella Armstrong is a PhD student at the Department of History at Trinity College Dublin.
Project Aims
Funded by the Taighde Éireann / Research Ireland Pathway Programme, the project is based at Trinity College Dublin, and led by Dr Deirdre Foley.
Project Aim #1
To capture and amplify the experience of maternity patients and the role of the medical profession therein from 1950-2020.
Project Aim #2
To explore the relationship between maternity care, religious and state authorities in this period.
