Posted: 22 Nov 2012
Social history of nursing available through digitised INMO journals
Historical back editions of early nursing journals belonging to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation have been digitised by UCD as part of a research project co-funded by the Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences (IRCHSS) and the INMO.
The Irish Nursing Journals Collection consists of almost 400 issues of the INMO’s journals, spanning the period 1925 to 1971.
The Collection is replete with articles and reports on important healthcare and professional issues as well as union news and updates, photographs and relevant product advertisements. The digitised journal is publicly accessible now on: digital.ucd.ie
These historical resources will now become more readily available online to researchers and scholars interested in nursing, midwifery, labour, social, print, advertising and women’s history.
Irish Nurses Magazine, February 1956
Irish Nurse, February 1965
Irish Nurses Magazine, August-September, 1952
Irish Nurses Magazine, April 1963
Irish Nurses Magazine Cover November 1944
Irish Nurses Magazine, February, 1953
Irish Nurses Magazine, January, 1963
Irish Nurses Journal, 1970 
Irish Nurses Magazine, January 1962
Irish Nurse, 1964
The project represents a unique collaboration between the UCD Irish Centre for Nursing and Midwifery History, UCD Library and Archives, and the INMO.
Liam Doran, INMO General Secretary said: “We in the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation are very proud of our collection of journals dating back to 1925 and we are delighted to be in a position to share the history of the organisation with the public in digital format.”
“The organisation was founded in Dublin in 1919 by a small group of nurses and midwives and now has over 40,000 members. We are the voice of 4 out of every 5 nurses and midwives working in Ireland and these journals provide a valuable history of our journey, how the professions have evolved and their contribution to healthcare down through the years.”
“We hope to continue this collaboration with UCD and to digitize all issues of the World of Irish Nursing from 1971 to 1996, after which time the journal became available in digital format to INMO members on our own website.”
Pictured at the UCD hosted event to mark the digitisation of INMO Journal were (L-R): Dr Martin McNamara, Dean of Nursing, UCD; Mark Loughrey, PhD Candidate, UCD; Dr Hugh Brady, President of UCD; Mr Liam Doran, General Secretary INMO; and Prof Gerard Fealy, UCD School of Nursing Midwifery and Health Systems
“This new digital collection will add to the growing collection of online historical resources available on the UCD Digital Library platform and will contribute to the study of nursing and midwifery history in Ireland for years to come,” said Dr Martin McNamara, Dean of Nursing at University College Dublin.
“The period 1925 to 1971 was one of enormous social and political change in Ireland, he said, and these changes, along with the Organization’s efforts to improve the employment conditions of a mostly female workforce are captured in the pages of the journals.”
(Produced by UCD University Relations)
