Irish Female Entrepreneurship

A History of Female Business Ownership, 1922–1972

Thérèse Moylan

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2026
• Print ISBN:
  9780367251444
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9781040699942
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Business General
• Index: Business

This book demonstrates that women proactively established and ran businesses in Ireland in the early to mid-20th century. Their motivations were varied and they were not a homogeneous group. They operated in all sectors but were concentrated in retailing, the hospitality sector and textile and clothing manufacturing. They were proactive agents in starting and developing businesses. This book gives voice to their experiences and reveals a history that has largely been overlooked or forgotten. The book is dedicated solely to exploring in depth the Irish business women's experience and makes it a unique proposition that advances the historical discourse of women as business owners. The research on Irish women's history has largely focused on women as employees and workers, revolutionaries, and homemakers, their contributions to politics and the women's movement. There has been little research conducted on Irish women as business owners. This book addresses this identified gap and challenges the perception that female entrepreneurship is a modern phenomenon and gives voice to the significant cohort of Irish women who ably and competently ran successful businesses in all regions of the country during the period 1922–1972. It will be of interest to researchers, academics and students in the fields of entrepreneurship, business history, gender studies and 20th-century Irish history.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Series
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of tables
• Acknowledgements
• 1 Irish women as business owners: context
• 2 The research approach
• 3 The lived experience: starting and running a business
• 4 Negotiating public and private spheres
• 5 Conclusions
• Bibliography: National Archives of Ireland (NAI)
• Index