Anglican Women in Dublin

A fascinating account of the public activities of women members of the Church of Ireland living in Dublin during a time of upheaval and rapid change in Ireland. Oonagh Walsh discusses key aspects of their lives, including charitable work, education and politics. She shows that the reaction of the women to the creation of the Irish Free State was for the most part pragmatic, tempered by a determination to maintain a strong Protestant identity in the new state. Their roles came to be increasingly public ones, though for the most part within the limits of their Anglican world and, in common with Catholic women, found that their full participation in public life was not encouraged.

"The importance of women in the Church of Ireland in the 20th century is not in doubt, at least from the comforting perspective of hindsight, but the church has been slow to articulate this. An important new book by Aberdeen-based historian Oonagh Walsh, has splendidly remedied this, at least for women in Dublin." Irish Times Nov 2005 "A charming painting by William Orpen on the jacket introduces the reader to an interesting and often neglected subject ... Here is a scholarly charting of their work - not only in Ireland, for there is a chapter on the overseas missions. With an imposing bibliography, statistical among other analysis, scrupulous source notes and an interesting list of charitable bodies, their dates and aims, this is an academic tour de force." Books Ireland Dec 2005 "Oonagh Walsh's careful scholarship has revealed a hitherto half-known world of Protestant women in early twentieth-century Dublin. The book's stunning cover, which features a painting by William Orpen, will attract the uninitiated, but the text provides considerable sustenance for those interested in the expanding field of women's history in Ireland." Irish Economic and Social History 2006 "an interesting book that adds considerably to our knowledge of women's activism in early twentieth-century Ireland." Irish Studies Review 15 (3) 2007 "a delightful book, scholarly and well written, and its very attractive design, with a painting by William Orpen on the jacket, adds to the pleasure of reading it." Books Ireland Feb 2008

Oonagh Walsh is Senior Lecturer in History at the University of Aberdeen.