Occupation and ill health were closely connected in industrial cities such as Belfast. By 1910 there were 75,000 linen operatives in Belfast of which five sixths were women. The dusty, hot, cramped and damp conditions in many mills were conducive to…
Destitution was a harsh reality for many of Belfast’s inhabitants and, for those who could no longer support themselves, Belfast Union workhouse on the Lisburn Road was often the last resort. Workhouses had been introduced in Ireland under the…
Diseases such as cholera, typhus, measles, whooping cough and tuberculosis were exacerbated by the environmental problems of the industrial city, and were a constant threat to the city’s inhabitants. Infants were particularly vulnerable and infant…