Dark spots' in Irish society : unmarried motherhood, crime and prosecution in Ireland, 1900-1950

Abstract

This thesis examines unplanned pregnancy in Ireland during the first half of the twentieth century from the perspective of the unmarried women who feature in the judicial records of infanticide and abortion trials. Chapter one examines the existing scholarship on the history of unmarried motherhood in Ireland and argues that while official responses to the problem of single motherhood in post-independent Ireland have been analysed in depth, relatively little is known about the actual experiences of unmarried mothers during the first half of the twentieth century. This chapter suggests that the records of infanticide and abortion trials can provide a great deal of insight into the lives of unmarried women who were forced to deal with the consequences of an unplanned pregnancy between 1900 and 1950. The next three chapters (2, 3 and 4) analyse the records of infanticide trials involving single women and/or their relatives and male partners. Chapter 5 examines cases where unmarried English and Scottish women stood trial for infanticide or concealment of birth during the first half of the twentieth century and contrasts their treatment and experiences with their Irish counterparts.