• The Shawlies Cork's women street traders and the 'merchant city'

    Author(s):
    Susan Marie Martin (see profile)
    Date:
    2017
    Subject(s):
    Ireland, Social history, Historical sociology, City planning, Women's studies, Civilization, Modern
    Item Type:
    Book
    Tag(s):
    hawkers, post-colonial, Urban planning, Modernity
    Permanent URL:
    http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/z83x-fm21
    Abstract:
    For centuries, working-class Irish women survived as street traders, selling fruit, vegetables and second-hand clothing. In Cork they were known as ‘the Shawlies’ because of the distinctive, traditional black shawls they wore on the streets late into the 20th century. Their role was central to life and trade in the open marketplace of Corn Market Street, known locally as ‘the Coal Quay’. In the months following the establishment of the Irish Free State, the wholesale grocer, Musgrave Brothers Ltd, wanted to expand its operations and build a new facility on Corn Market Street. The firm exerted pressure on the local authority in Cork to ban street trading. In 1926, the Irish Free State government introduced the Street Trading Act, insisting it was fair legislation needed to regulate street trading. In practice, it limited the rights of the Shawlies to earn, and facilitated their disappearance from the streets. This study assembles the first narrative of the lives of the Shawlies, and places it within the story of the larger strategies of governance that came to shape Cork’s urban landscape.
    Notes:
    http://www.fourcourtspress.ie/books/2017/the-shawlies/
    Metadata:
    xml
    Published as:
    Book     Show details
    Publisher:
    Four Courts Press
    Pub. Date:
    2017
    ISBN:
    978-1-84682-644-3
    Status:
    Published
    Last Updated:
    5 years ago
    License:
    All Rights Reserved
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