News release
23 June 2015
People’s history exhibition opens summer 2015
A brand new exhibition takes a close look at the representation of Irishwomen through the lens
of women’s magazines in 1960s Ireland, a decade of transformation. Curated by Dr Ciara
Meehan from the University of Hertfordshire, Modern Wife, Modern Life will open on 1 July at
the National Print Museum in Beggars Bush Barracks.
Too often everyday life is overlooked in favour of leading personalities or political development.
This exhibition focuses on ‘ordinary’ Irishwomen, and explores the lines of continuity and change
in what was expected of them in 1960s Ireland. Magazines such as Woman’s Way, Woman’s
Choice and Woman’s View promoted new expectations, though many traditional values
persisted, challenging women to negotiate competing demands on minds and bodies in their
everyday lives. This decade offers a unique opportunity to examine how different generations of
women responded to and located themselves within a changing Ireland.
The exhibition covers seven themes: print culture, advice for the newly married wife, beauty
and presentation, the housewife of the year competition, new technologies in the home,
women behind the wheel, and wives who work. Visitors will be able to browse features from the
magazines, advertisements, and extracts from advice columnists such as Angela Macnamara.
There will also be an array of domestic objects, including a sewing machine, recipe books and
wedding dress, on display. Many of these are on loan from members of the Irish public.
Dr Ciara Meehan, senior lecturer in history at the University of Hertfordshire, said, ‘the striking
advertisements in the magazines offer a visual statement on the expectations of women in the
1960s, while advice columns, letters and oral testimony provide insights into how ordinary
women perceived and located themselves in this decade of change’.
The exhibition runs from 1 July to 30 August. For more information visit:
http://modernwifemodernlifeexhibition.com/
ENDS
For more information, please contact Dr Ciara Meehan on Irish mobile number:
+353(0)863729574, UK number: +44(0)1707285650, Email: c.meehan2@herts.ac.uk
Notes to Editor
Photograph:
About the National Print Museum
 The National Print Museum is the only printing museum of its kind in Ireland and in the British Isles.

In this digital age where information is at our finger tips, the National Print Museum affords the opportunity to
step back in time and experience the history of the printed word.

The Museum is funded by the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and fully accredited by The
Heritage Council’s Museums Standards Programme for Ireland.

Opening hours: Monday – Friday 09.00-17.00, Saturday – Sunday 14.00 – 17.00, closed bank holiday weekend.

Admission is free of charge.
About the University of Hertfordshire
 The University is the UK’s leading business-facing university and an exemplar in the sector. It is innovative
and enterprising and challenges individuals and organisations to excel.

The University of Hertfordshire is one of the region’s largest employers with over 2,425 staff and a turnover
of over £234 million.

With a student community of over 25,100 including more than 2,900 overseas students from 120 different
countries, the University has a global network of over 175,000 alumni.

It is also one of the top 100 universities in the world under 50 years old, according to the new Times Higher
Education 100 under 50 rankings 2014.

For more information, please visit www.herts.ac.uk
About Dr Ciara Meehan

Ciara is currently a lecturer in twentieth century history and associate programme tutor for the Humanities
Programme at the University of Hertfordshire.

She is the author of The Cosgrave Party: a History of Cumann na nGaedheal, 1923-33 (Royal Irish
Academy, 2010) and A Just Society for Ireland? 1964-87 (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013).

Graduated from the School of History at University College Dublin with a BA in 2003 and a PhD in 2007
and subsequently joined as academic staff.