Breda Corish - Bríd Ní Fheorais
​​​After growing up in Kerry and Limerick and studying science at University College Dublin, I emigrated in the late 1980s to London where I adopted Hackney as my new home and embarked on a career in the sci-tech-medical online information industry.
Redundancy in 2020 gave me the opportunity to return to university to study for a History BA (First) at Queen Mary University of London, followed by my MA in Public History (Distinction) at UCL where I researched some of the many, and sometimes surprising, historical connections between London and Ireland. I love reflecting on how the events of the past and how history is written shape how we see the world around us today.
This website began life as the main part of my MA dissertation output. Now it's the focus for my ambition to develop an expansive exploration of the long history of Ireland in London, through ongoing historical research.
I'm always looking to learn and research more about the historical connections between London and Ireland, so would love to hear your thoughts and suggestions. Not being a fluent Irish language Gaeilgeoir myself, I'd especially love to hear from anyone who can help shed light on this aspect of the historic presence of Ireland in London.
And I'm very happy to be contacted about this project and to give talks or write articles about the different blog topics or other aspects of the long history of Ireland in London. You can see my talks and interviews to date here.
You can get in touch via the Contact page or email me directly.
Hackney history beginnings
After a few years chatting on Twitter/X about my random discoveries of London's Ireland connections, I was delighted to be asked by History of Stokey to give a talk about Stoke Newington's Irish connections in 2023. That led to my giving another talk at the 2024 Hackney History Festival about the campaign for Irish Home Rule in 1880s Hackney.
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Both talks were a joy to research and present, with each one prompting thought-provoking questions and conversations - you can watch the recordings of these two talks (and other talks delivered since then) here.​​​
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Preparing and delivering those talks really influenced how I first approached this project.
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I'm hoping each blog post tells a story that both stands on its own merits and illuminates the many and various ways in which Ireland and Irish people have been part of London's history over the centuries.​​
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I'm also keen to highlight the incredible richness of the many and various historical resources available to all of us, from online sites to local archives. Imagine all the stories that are yet to be told! ​​