Ulster American Folk Park launches first new exhibition in four years

Pictured (L-R) at the launch of Bad Bridget at Ulster American Folk Park are Fiona McDonnell, Tasha Marks, Victoria Millar, Jan Carson, Andrew McDowell, Kathryn Thomson, Franziska Schroeder, Dr Leanne McCormick and Dr Elaine Farrell. Photo by Photo by Darren Kidd/Presseye

Bad Bridget looks into the experiences of Irish girls and women in Boston, New York and Toronto from 1838 to 1918 and the challenges they encountered with the authorities as they struggled to survive.

The exhibition is the first new display in the temporary gallery in four years, and has immersive elements including the installation of smells, which represents an exciting new direction for Omagh’s Ulster American Folk Park.

Victoria Millar, Senior Curator of History at National Museums NI, said: “We are thrilled to have opened our Bad Bridget exhibition to the public. Traditionally, women’s stories have been underrepresented at the Ulster American Folk Park, even though women accounted for around half of Irish migrants from 1800 onwards. Bad Bridget represents the beginning of a new experience here for our visitors with our collaboration focusing on new sensory elements.

“The exhibition features almost 150 original objects from the collections of National Museums NI, including numerous domestic and personal items, costume, works of art and natural history specimens.”