Bad Bridget

Latest Episodes:

Bad Bridget: S2E6 - The Irish Nov 03, 2025

Show notes

In the last episode of the season we talk about the tricky subject of discrimination, both against and by the Irish. Sophie Cooper details how the Irish got a reputation for drunkenness and violence across the western world, while Deirdre Cooper Owens shares her expertise on Irish women and medical treatment, discrimination and race. And while the Irish were sometimes discriminated against, they could also be racist as well, as shown in the tragic story of two immigrant sisters. Written and presented by Elaine Farrell and Leanne McCormick. Producer: John D’Arcy. Episode 6 guests: Deirdre Cooper Owens and Sophie Cooper. Actor: Siobhán McSweeney. Music: Franziska Schroeder and Catriona Gribben. Artwork: Fiona McDonnell. Podcast funded by Ulster University Impact Accelerator Fund, AHRC. The Bad Bridget project was funded by AHRC with University Ulster & Queen’s University Belfast. More Bad Bridget online: - The Book: Bad Bridget: Crime, mayhem and the lives of Irish emigrant women https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/446640/bad-bridget-by-mccormick-elaine-farrell-and-leanne/9780241994320 - The Exhibition: Bad Bridget Exhibition: Ulster American Folk Park, Omagh, Co. Tyrone https://www.ulsteramericanfolkpark.org/whats-on/bad-bridget - The Instagram: badbridgetbook https://www.instagram.com/badbridgetbook - The Project homepage https://badbridget.wordpress.com/

Bad Bridget: S2E5 - The Revengers (live from Electric Picnic) Nov 03, 2025

Show notes

Join us live from Electric Picnic, Ireland’s largest music and arts festival, for this live episode on all things revenge. Hear about the women who held a grudge, who fell out with each other (sometimes with tragic consequences), or who sought to retaliate when relationships went wrong. These are women you do not want to cross! Written and presented by Elaine Farrell and Leanne McCormick. Producer: John D’Arcy. Actor: Siobhán McSweeney. Music: Franziska Schroeder and Catriona Gribben. Artwork: Fiona McDonnell. Podcast funded by Ulster University Impact Accelerator Fund, AHRC. The Bad Bridget project was funded by AHRC with University Ulster & Queen’s University Belfast. More Bad Bridget online: - The Book: Bad Bridget: Crime, mayhem and the lives of Irish emigrant women https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/446640/bad-bridget-by-mccormick-elaine-farrell-and-leanne/9780241994320 - The Exhibition: Bad Bridget Exhibition: Ulster American Folk Park, Omagh, Co. Tyrone https://www.ulsteramericanfolkpark.org/whats-on/bad-bridget - The Instagram: badbridgetbook https://www.instagram.com/badbridgetbook - The Project homepage https://badbridget.wordpress.com/

Bad Bridget: S2E4 - The Bad Girls Nov 03, 2025

Show notes

How many of us would have been in trouble if stubbornness was a crime when we were teenagers? Hear about how being stubborn and disobeying your parents in the past could lead to a prison sentence. Elizabeth Alice Clement talks to us about dating in the US city, and the phenomenon of ‘treating’. This episode also includes tales of girls who had criminal records even before they were teenagers. Written and presented by Elaine Farrell and Leanne McCormick. Producer: John D’Arcy. Episode 4 guest: Elizabeth Alice Clement. Actor: Siobhán McSweeney. Music: Franziska Schroeder and Catriona Gribben. Artwork: Fiona McDonnell. Podcast funded by Ulster University Impact Accelerator Fund, AHRC. The Bad Bridget project was funded by AHRC with University Ulster & Queen’s University Belfast. More Bad Bridget online: - The Book: Bad Bridget: Crime, mayhem and the lives of Irish emigrant women https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/446640/bad-bridget-by-mccormick-elaine-farrell-and-leanne/9780241994320 - The Exhibition: Bad Bridget Exhibition: Ulster American Folk Park, Omagh, Co. Tyrone https://www.ulsteramericanfolkpark.org/whats-on/bad-bridget - The Instagram: badbridgetbook https://www.instagram.com/badbridgetbook - The Project homepage https://badbridget.wordpress.com/

Bad Bridget: S2E3 - The Lovers Nov 03, 2025

Show notes

We all love a happy ending … but this rarely happened for many of our Bad Bridgets. Listen in for some tales of love gone wrong. We hear how emigration from Ireland allowed men and women to escape relationships, how some women ended up in prison for adultery or for having more than one wedding, and the lengths some women went to to track down their misbehaving husbands! In this episode, Diane Urquhart tells us how hard it was to legally end a marriage and what ‘divorce Irish style’ looked like. Written and presented by Elaine Farrell and Leanne McCormick. Producer: John D’Arcy. Episode 3 guest: Diane Urquhart. Actor: Siobhán McSweeney. Music: Franziska Schroeder and Catriona Gribben. Artwork: Fiona McDonnell. Podcast funded by Ulster University Impact Accelerator Fund, AHRC. The Bad Bridget project was funded by AHRC with University Ulster & Queen’s University Belfast. More Bad Bridget online: - The Book: Bad Bridget: Crime, mayhem and the lives of Irish emigrant women https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/446640/bad-bridget-by-mccormick-elaine-farrell-and-leanne/9780241994320 - The Exhibition: Bad Bridget Exhibition: Ulster American Folk Park, Omagh, Co. Tyrone https://www.ulsteramericanfolkpark.org/whats-on/bad-bridget - The Instagram: badbridgetbook https://www.instagram.com/badbridgetbook - The Project homepage https://badbridget.wordpress.com/

Bad Bridget: S2E2 - The Thieves Nov 03, 2025

Show notes

Have you ever shoplifted or had your pocket picked? Well let us tell you about some of the Bad Bridgets who were extraordinary thieves. These are some of our favourite Bad Bridgets, from Elizabeth Dillon who targeted mourners at funerals to Little Annie Reilly who traded on her innocent appearance, and of course the infamous Mother Hubbard with her self-styled clothing. These are women who are inventive and creative in all the worst ways! In this episode, Eliza McKee tells us all about pawning and by the end you will be holding tight to your purse! Written and presented by Elaine Farrell and Leanne McCormick. Producer: John D’Arcy. Episode 2 guest: Eliza McKee. Actor: Siobhán McSweeney. Music: Franziska Schroeder and Catriona Gribben. Artwork: Fiona McDonnell. Podcast funded by Ulster University Impact Accelerator Fund, AHRC. The Bad Bridget project was funded by AHRC with University Ulster & Queen’s University Belfast. More Bad Bridget online: - The Book: Bad Bridget: Crime, mayhem and the lives of Irish emigrant women https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/446640/bad-bridget-by-mccormick-elaine-farrell-and-leanne/9780241994320 - The Exhibition: Bad Bridget Exhibition: Ulster American Folk Park, Omagh, Co. Tyrone https://www.ulsteramericanfolkpark.org/whats-on/bad-bridget - The Instagram: badbridgetbook https://www.instagram.com/badbridgetbook - The Project homepage https://badbridget.wordpress.com/

Bad Bridget: S2E1 - The Servants Nov 03, 2025

Show notes

Welcome back to Season 2 of the Bad Bridget podcast! To begin this season we’re talking about a very common occupation for many Irish women (and Bad Bridgets!) in North America – domestic service. We are joined by Catherine Healy and Andy Urban, who share their expertise on the life of a servant. Listen in to find out how things could go wrong for many servants, as well as the escapades of some servants who had more than cooking and cleaning on their minds! And of course the wonderful Siobhán McSweeney is back to bring these Bad Bridget stories to life. Written and presented by Elaine Farrell and Leanne McCormick. Producer: John D’Arcy. Episode 1 guests: Catherine Healy and Andy Urban. Actor: Siobhán McSweeney. Music: Franziska Schroeder and Catriona Gribben. Artwork: Fiona McDonnell. Podcast funded by Ulster University Impact Accelerator Fund, AHRC. The Bad Bridget project was funded by AHRC with University Ulster & Queen’s University Belfast. More Bad Bridget online: - The Book: Bad Bridget: Crime, mayhem and the lives of Irish emigrant women https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/446640/bad-bridget-by-mccormick-elaine-farrell-and-leanne/9780241994320 - The Exhibition: Bad Bridget Exhibition: Ulster American Folk Park, Omagh, Co. Tyrone https://www.ulsteramericanfolkpark.org/whats-on/bad-bridget - The Instagram: badbridgetbook https://www.instagram.com/badbridgetbook - The Project homepage https://badbridget.wordpress.com/

Bad Bridget: S1E5 - The Murderers Dec 11, 2020

Show notes

We’ve saved our most sensational cases to the end! Hear about the woman who murdered her neighbour and put her in a trunk to steal her house, the wife who suspected her husband of having an affair, and the Irish serial killer who was the first women in America to be sentenced to death by the electric chair.

Bad Bridget - Episode 5 - The Murderers Dec 11, 2020

Show notes

Episode 3: The Unmarried Mothers. Dec 10, 2020

Show notes

Listen to the stories of girls and women who left Ireland pregnant or became pregnant in North America outside marriage. Some who migrated from Ireland believed their partners would follow them, only to find themselves alone and thousands of miles from home. Hear how for some women having a baby out of wedlock had tragic consequences.

Episode 4: The Demon Drink! Dec 09, 2020

Show notes

The Irish have a long association with alcohol and in this podcast we look at what happened to those Irish women who got into trouble with alcohol abroad. Those who drank to drown their sorrows, the mothers who neglected their children, and groups of women whose drinking on the streets brought them to court.

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