Professor Jane Ohlmeyer, Principal Investigator of the VOICES project, recently delivered a lecture at the Institute of Historical Research last month examining how non-elite women earned their livelihoods in early modern Dublin. Using sources such as the 1641 Depositions and records of Dublin freewomen, she outlined the central roles women played as earners, decision makers, and protectors within their households, often working alongside male relatives.
Her analysis showed that while guilds oversaw some areas of women’s labour, in particular in commerce, construction, food production, textiles, leatherwork, and metalworking, most female-driven work remained outside regulation and was poorly paid. Hospitality, domestic service, care work, street selling, laundering, catering, cleaning, and brewing formed the backbone of this unregulated economy.
Ohlmeyer noted that recent attention to intersectionality, factors such as class, marital status, religion, ethnicity, and regional background, has sharpened understanding of women’s varied contributions to Dublin’s workforce.
VOICES is a European Research Council–funded project led by Professor Jane Ohlmeyer at Trinity College Dublin and ADAPT. The initiative uses advanced digital tools to uncover women’s experiences of trauma and conflict in early modern Ireland.
Read the full blog post here.
