Unmarried mothers and infanticide in Ireland, 1900-1950

Abstract

Infanticide was committed regularly in Ireland during the first half of the twentieth century. It was a crime that was closely associated with unmarried mothers. Most single women charged with infanticide or concealment of birth during the first half of the twentieth century were from working-class backgrounds and had been employed as domestic servants. This project will also examine infanticide cases that were tried in Northern Ireland and bring to light infanticide cases involving Irish women that came before the courts in Britain during the period under review.