Individual Stories
Gathering information on the Mayo orphan girls could not be done without the research completed by Trevor McClaughlin on the Irish orphan girls, published in Barefoot and Pregnant?: Irish Famine Orphans in Australia, Volume 1 (1991) and Volume 2 (2001). The Orphan Registers created by Trevor McClaughlin are now searchable online via the Famine Orphan Girl Database maintained by the Irish Famine Memorial Sydney.
From these two sources a Mayo Orphan Register was created, and material was added for the individual Mayo orphan girls as it was discovered. It is an ongoing project to both uncover information, as well as subsequently add this information to this website. At this stage, a small sample is presented.
In these individual stories, elements of some of the Mayo orphan girls’ lives have been unearthed. Three of the Mayo orphan girls were traced to their townlands of origin. Other stories are revealed through short, yet informative, references in the newspaper, and for others still, their life with their employer can be envisaged. Analysis of the Mayo Orphan Register also reveals 13 cases of sisters who travelled to Australia together, discussed here.
Click on the Mayo orphan girls' names to open their individual page.
From these two sources a Mayo Orphan Register was created, and material was added for the individual Mayo orphan girls as it was discovered. It is an ongoing project to both uncover information, as well as subsequently add this information to this website. At this stage, a small sample is presented.
In these individual stories, elements of some of the Mayo orphan girls’ lives have been unearthed. Three of the Mayo orphan girls were traced to their townlands of origin. Other stories are revealed through short, yet informative, references in the newspaper, and for others still, their life with their employer can be envisaged. Analysis of the Mayo Orphan Register also reveals 13 cases of sisters who travelled to Australia together, discussed here.
Click on the Mayo orphan girls' names to open their individual page.
© Barbara Barclay (2015)
