00:00An exhibition exploring the experiences of women of Irish heritage in the north of England
00:06is now open in Liverpool.
00:08St Bridget's Arms is being presented at the University of Liverpool's Victoria Gallery and Museum
00:13where the exhibition takes the form of a fictional Irish pub
00:17alongside a recreation of a domestic home.
00:20Well, I want people to walk in and feel welcome straight away.
00:23I feel like I get that myself even after someone who's like made it and helped create it,
00:28just the warm and the connection.
00:29The St Bridget's Arms is this amazing fictional pub that we've created
00:34and it's quite important that it's named after a woman
00:37and that her arms are wrapping around all of these wonderful stories
00:40that we've got from over 65 women of Irish heritage.
00:44The project's been co-created by Emerald Lens,
00:47a female-led community interest company based in Greater Manchester.
00:50The project has brought together women through creative workshops
00:53in Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds.
00:55And each group has kind of had that little bit of difference
00:58but there's been so many similarities of things that have come up as well.
01:02It brings together stories collected from women ranging from first-generation migrants
01:07to fifth-generation descendants.
01:09The experiences of identity, heritage and belonging are shaped through oral histories,
01:14visual art, music, dance and film created by participants.
01:19Discussions explored what Irishness means away from Ireland,
01:23how cultural identity passes between generations and what it means to have mixed Irish heritage.
01:28I want people to, I suppose, realise that all Irishness is valid no matter how far removed you are from
01:34it.
01:35I feel like it's something that's not properly recognised as much in Ireland for people living there,
01:41that when you're away from Ireland, you know, no matter if you're first, second, third, fourth, fifth generation,
01:46there's such a connection that you feel in your heart to that land.
01:50Women's stories can go unheard.
01:52I think you can have, history can have a focus on men
01:56and sometimes women are the ones that are kind of keeping everything together,
02:02keeping things moving along, maybe where their male counterparts are able to go out and do things,
02:06particularly if we think historically.
02:08Organisers say the exhibition aims to preserve stories that might otherwise be lost
02:13and create a space where experiences can be shared and celebrated.
02:17For me, as a person born there, there's a real sense of believing.
02:23There's a real sense of, like, trusting the stories and the folklore and that has happened before
02:28because it explains the random things that there's not always an explanation for.
02:32But there's also the stories are beautiful, you know, and, like, actually the folklore came up in all of our
02:37groups again
02:37and the connection to the land and the fairies and, you know, the Hawthorne trees,
02:41things you do and you don't do and the fairy rings.
02:43So it's really important, I think, you know, Irish people do have this sense of believing.
02:48You know, we believe in the other, whatever that might be.
02:52St Bridget's Arms is running at the Victoria Art Gallery and Museum until the 17th of April.
