Draft:Bad Bridget
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{{AFC submission|d|nn|u=AMcAleese|ns=118|decliner=PARAKANYAA|declinets=20250416221346|small=yes|ts=20250407142734}}
{{AFC comment|1=For an AHRC project to be independently notable, it would need to meet the strict sourcing guidelines at WP:NCORP, which, I am sorry to say, is basically impossible given the nature of the typical academic project. This one has been more public than most, so maybe there's something here, but I think you'll have a better time of it if you rework this into an article on the book (which is surely notable - you just need to prove it's been reviewed by multiple reliable outlets, effectively a given since it went to mass-market paperback) and mention the podcast, the AHRC grants, etc, as related to that book. Good luck! asilvering (talk) 22:00, 17 May 2025 (UTC)}}
{{AFC comment|1=This article has sources on several disparate but interconnected things (a book, a podcast, the exhibition, the term) that the article is painting as interconnected but based on the notability of the term. From the sources here not one of those three meets the relevant notability guidelines on its own and trying to aggregate them comes off synth-y PARAKANYAA (talk) 22:13, 16 April 2025 (UTC)}}
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{{Short description|History research project on Irish women}}
{{Draft topics|northern-europe}}
{{AfC topic|other}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
Bad Bridget is a research and media project featuring podcasts, museum exhibits, and books by Elaine Farrell and Leanne McCormick which focus on the history of Irish female immigrants in North America between 1838–1918.{{Cite web |date=July 28, 2023 |title=Bad Bridget |url=https://www.ulster.ac.uk/research/topic/history/projects/bad-bridget |access-date=April 7, 2025 |website=ulster.ac.uk |language=en-GB}} The Bad Bridget research project explored the reasons why Irish women were involved in criminal and deviant activity, investigating the economic and societal pressure these women faced and telling the stories of their lives. The term "Bad Bridget" was coined by McCormick to collectively describe the lived realities of the women their research focuses on.{{Cite web |last=Finn |first=Clodagh |date=2023-02-26 |title=Book interview: Bridgets breaking bad in this look at disappointed emigrée women |url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/artsandculture/arid-41079467.html |access-date=2025-04-30 |website=Irish Examiner |language=en}}
Bad Bridget has expanded from a research project to several platforms including a podcast (released 2020), museum exhibition (opened in 2022), and a book (released 2023).
Background
The Bad Bridget project started in 2015 and was funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, initially as a three-year history research project, led by Elaine Farrell (Queens University Belfast) and Leanne McCormick (Ulster University). In the second year of the project, Leanne Calvert was appointed as postdoctoral researcher for one year.{{Cite web |date=2023-07-28 |title=Bad Bridget |url=https://www.ulster.ac.uk/research/topic/history/projects/bad-bridget |access-date=2025-04-30 |website=www.ulster.ac.uk |language=en-GB}}
The project team set out to explore the lives of female Irish immigrants in Boston, New York and Toronto between 1838–1918 who were committing crimes or who were considered to be sexually deviant or bad mothers.{{Cite web |date=2020-09-15 |title=Bad Bridget Project Podcast {{!}} Research {{!}} Queen's University Belfast |url=https://www.qub.ac.uk/Research/media/podcasts/bad-bridget/ |access-date=2025-04-30 |website=www.qub.ac.uk |language=en}} One of the women whose story is explored is the serial killer Lizzie Halliday.
Bad Bridget Podcast
Released in December 2020, the Bad Bridget podcast was written and presented by Elaine Farrell and Leanne McCormick with contributions from academics and professionals.{{Cite web |date=September 15, 2020 |title=Bad Bridget Project Podcast {{!}} Research {{!}} Queen's University Belfast |url=https://www.qub.ac.uk/Research/media/podcasts/bad-bridget/ |access-date=April 7, 2025 |website=qub.ac.uk |language=en}}{{cite news |last1=McCann |first1=Fiona |title=Bad Bridget: The haunting untold stories of the Irish women who sailed to the US for a better life but ended up in jail |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio/review/2024/02/12/bad-bridget-haunting-heartbreaking-and-hilarious-tales-of-irish-women-who-sailed-to-the-new-world/ |newspaper=The Irish Times |access-date=April 13, 2025 |language=en |date=February 12, 2024}} It focuses on the research findings for the Bad Bridget project from 2015–2020. The podcast consists of an introduction episode, and five additional episodes which feature a special appearance from actor Siobhán McSweeney.{{cite web |last1=Corr |first1=Julieanne |title='Bad Bridget' stories of Irish in America zoom up podcast charts |url=https://www.thetimes.com/world/ireland-world/article/bad-bridget-stories-of-irish-in-america-zoom-up-podcast-charts-8jcn2vw5q |website=thetimes.com |access-date=April 13, 2025 |language=en |date=January 31, 2021}}
Music for the Bad Bridget podcast was composed, performed and produced by Franziska Schroeder and Music MA student Catriona Gribben. Original artwork for the podcast was created by Ashleigh Neil (PhDcartoon).{{Cite news |title=Bad Bridget: Crime, Mayhem and the Lives of Irish Emigrant Women – Gone to the bad |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/review/2023/01/28/bad-bridget-crime-mayhem-and-the-lives-of-irish-emigrant-women-gone-to-the-bad/ |access-date=2025-04-30 |newspaper=The Irish Times |language=en}}
The podcast is available on Apple and Spotify.
Season 2 of the podcast will be released in April 2025.
| class="wikitable"
!No. !Title !Description !Length (minutes:seconds) !Original release date |
| 0
|Promotional Episode |Introduction to the podcast. |2:39 |December 1, 2020 |
| 1
|Poverty |The young Irish women and girls that travelled to America to escape poverty at home and earn money for their families. Contributions made by Ciara Breathnach (University of Limerick) and Catherine Griffen, a public defender in New York City. |25:33 |December 3, 2020 |
| 2
|The Sex Workers |A discussion about the Irish women who became sex workers, wrongful convictions and family reputation. Contributions made by Jennifer Redmond (Maynooth University) |34:24 |December 3, 2020 |
| 3
|The Unmarried Mothers |This episode explores Irish women who left Ireland pregnant or became pregnant in North America outside marriage. Contributions made by Cara Delay (College of Charlestown) |23:13 |December 10, 2020 |
| 4
|The Demon Drink! |How the Irish have a long association with alcohol, and how Irish women may have gotten into trouble with alcohol abroad. Contributions made by Conor Reidy |22:28 |December 9, 2020 |
| 5
|The Murderers |A discussion on female Irish murderers. Contributions made by Leanne Calvert (University of Hertforshire) |25:06 |December 11, 2020 |
Bad Bridget Exhibition
In 2021, the Bad Bridget project received Follow up Funding from AHRC, which allowed the team to open an exhibition at the Ulster American Folk Park in Omagh, in collaboration with National Museums NI. Titled "Bad Bridget", the exhibition highlights the adversities faced by Irish women and girls who migrated to North America in the Nineteenth and early Twentieth centuries.{{Cite web |title=Bad Bridget {{!}} Ulster American Folk Park |url=https://www.ulsteramericanfolkpark.org/whats-on/bad-bridget |access-date=April 7, 2025 |website=ulsteramericanfolkpark.org |language=en}}
The exhibition opened to the public in April 2022, and includes immersive experiences such as smells, monologues and over one hundred original objects from the collections of National Museums NI and PRONI, including personal items, costumes and works of art. The exhibition is expected to remain open until early 2026.{{Cite web |title=Bad Bridget {{!}} Ulster American Folk Park |url=https://www.ulsteramericanfolkpark.org/whats-on/bad-bridget?_gl=1*1703jem*_ga*OTc1NjIwNTE3LjE3NDYwMTcwNjk.*_ga_DE0DHBTKPK*MTc0NjAxNzA2OC4xLjEuMTc0NjAxNzEwMS4yNy4wLjA. |access-date=2025-04-30 |website=www.ulsteramericanfolkpark.org |language=en}}
The exhibition was based on the research and concept of Leanne McCormick and Elaine Farrell.{{Cite web |date=July 28, 2023 |title=Dr Leanne McCormick's research inspires launch of Bad Bridget exhibition |url=https://www.ulster.ac.uk/news/2022/april/uu-researcher-supports-launch-of-bad-bridget-exhibition |access-date=April 7, 2025 |website=ulster.ac.uk |language=en-GB}} Creative staff involved in the making of the exhibition include the author Jan Carson{{Cite web |title=The Stories Behind Bad Bridget {{!}} Ulster American Folk Park |url=https://www.ulsteramericanfolkpark.org/interview/stories-behind-bad-bridget |access-date=2025-04-30 |website=www.ulsteramericanfolkpark.org |language=en}}, the illustrator Fiona McDonnell{{Cite web |title=Reimagining Bad Bridget {{!}} Ulster American Folk Park |url=https://www.ulsteramericanfolkpark.org/interview/reimagining-bad-bridget |access-date=2025-04-30 |website=www.ulsteramericanfolkpark.org |language=en}}, scent designer Tasha Marks{{Cite web |title=Storytelling through Scent {{!}} Ulster American Folk Park |url=https://www.ulsteramericanfolkpark.org/interview/storytelling-through-scent |access-date=2025-04-30 |website=www.ulsteramericanfolkpark.org |language=en}}, sound artists Franziska Schroeder and Catriona Gribben, and actors Maggie Cronin, Bronagh Donaghey, Isabelle Martin, Carly McCullough, Lucy Rafferty and Maggie Villarini.{{Cite web |title=Exhibiting Bad Bridget {{!}} Irish Humanities Alliance |url=https://www.irishhumanities.com/blog/exhibiting-bad-bridget/ |access-date=2025-04-30 |website=www.irishhumanities.com}}
Bad Bridget Book
Published in January 2023 by Penguin Books, "Bad Bridget: Crime, Mayhem and the Lives of Irish Emigrant Women" by Elaine Farrell and Leanne McCormick is based on their research into the history of Irish women who emigrated to North America during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.{{Cite book |last1=McCormick |first1=Leanne |last2=Farrell |first2=Elaine |url=https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/446640/bad-bridget-by-mccormick-elaine-farrell-and-leanne/9780241994320 |title=Bad Bridget |date=January 11, 2024 |language=en}}{{cite web |last1=Bailey |first1=Pippa |title=From Edward Stourton to the Wife of Bath: new titles reviewed in short |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/books/2023/01/edward-stourton-wife-of-bath-books-reviewed |website=New Statesman |access-date=April 13, 2025 |language=en |date=January 14, 2023}}
It was number one in the Irish non-fiction charts, Dubray Book of the Month, RTÉ Book of the Week,{{Cite news |last=Breathnach |first=Béibhinn |date=February 4, 2023 |title=Book Of The Week: Bad Bridget – Irish emigrant women go wild |url=https://www.rte.ie/culture/2023/0204/1352376-book-of-the-week-bad-bridget-irish-emigrant-women-go-wild/ |language=en}} and IrishCentral.com Book of the Month.{{Cite web |date=February 1, 2023 |title=IrishCentral's Book of the Month: "Bad Bridget" by Elaine Farrell and Leanne McCormick |url=https://www.irishcentral.com/culture/bad-bridget-elaine-farrell-leanne-mccormick |access-date=April 7, 2025 |website=IrishCentral.com |language=en}} The mass paperback version was released in January 2024, and was awarded Waterstones Irish book of the month.{{Cite web |title=Bad Bridget by Elaine Farrell, Leanne McCormick {{!}} Waterstones |url=https://www.waterstones.com/book/bad-bridget/elaine-farrell/leanne-mccormick/9780241994320 |access-date=April 7, 2025 |website=waterstones.com |language=en}}
References
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