Thursday 5th February 2026

6pm

Shankill Road Library

Free

Belfast blossomed in the 19th century but underneath the industrial successes, the working classes lived in cramped, insanitary housing and were vulnerable to destitution and disease. When the poor died and their families could not afford to bury them, what happened?

This talk by historian Dr Robyn Atcheson delves into the lives and deaths of the poor of Belfast and provides a potted history of the town’s graveyards.

Robyn will also share about her campaign to mark Belfast’s “forgotten graveyard” where the bodies of tens of thousands of poor people lie in unmarked graves. Stories of epidemics, body snatching and space-saving cemetery measures will be shared in a relaxed environment, open to all.

No booking is necessary.

Thursday 12th February 2026

1pm & 3pm

NI War Memorial

Free

Step back in time and discover the important roles women played during the Second World War in this interactive children’s workshop led by the NI War Memorial Museum.

The session begins with a short, engaging talk by Dr Robyn Atcheson and Dr Becca Watterson, featuring real objects and demonstrations from the museum collection.

Children can then take part in hands-on activities at two themed stations:

 Women’s History Station – explore women’s wartime roles using paper dolls and uniforms, led by Robyn

First Aid Station – learn basic bandaging skills and how women cared for others during wartime, led by Becca

There will also be colouring-in activities throughout the workshop, with a special focus on women such as Land Girls.

Please note all children are to be accompanied by an adult/guardian.

Special Dates for NI Science Festival!

Friday 13th, Friday 20th & Saturday 21st February 2026

2pm

Starting from Belfast City Hospital

£15

Pox, plagues, cholera – all just part of life for people in 19th-century Belfast. How did they cope with the constant outbreaks of disease? How did doctors treat the sick? Where did all the dead bodies go? This tour introduces you to the stories of the poor of Belfast and their experiences of health and sickness as well as their fears of the workhouse, hospitals and the dreaded body-snatchers.

Led by historian Dr Robyn Atcheson, this tour will open your eyes (and other senses) to what life was really like for ordinary people in 19th-century Belfast.

Book early as these tours sell out quick!

suitable for children 11+

Monday 16th February

7pm

Great Hall, Queen’s University Belfast

£10

How did you know you were pregnant before the invention of pregnancy tests? How could you avoid getting pregnant? Who did you call when it was time to give birth? Why were Caesareans so deadly?

Social historian Dr Robyn Atcheson has pondered the ways in which pregnancy and childbirth have changed over the centuries and has picked up a few real medical instruments along the way.

Join her for a fascinating deep dive into the history of pregnancy & childbirth & a chance to see some of the (often terrifying) authentic tools of the trade.

Saturday 14th February 2026

2pm

Queen’s University, Belfast

Free

Explore the foundation and early development of what became Queen’s University Belfast.

Why was a college formed in Belfast? Why in 1845? Three Queen’s historians will answer those questions by placing the foundation of Queen’s College Belfast within broader political, social, and intellectual developments: Professor Peter Gray will examine British and Irish politics; Dr Robyn Atcheson will consider Belfast society; and Professor Andrew Holmes will chart the foundation and progress of the Belfast college.

Tuesday 17th February 2026

1pm

PRONI

Free

When war broke out across Europe, women in Northern Ireland began to organise. They volunteered, they entered new professions, they took on roles that were
unthinkable for their mothers and grandmothers. This talk explores the lives of women during the war; those who served officially, those who assisted unofficially
and those who dealt with the daily reality of war.

Women played key roles in war-time Northern Ireland and were on the front line in response to the Belfast Blitz in 1941. Using testimony from the women themselves, historian Dr Robyn Atcheson tells the stories usually neglected in histories of the Second World War by focusing on the women who lived and died in 1940s Northern Ireland.

Thursday 12th March 2026

1pm

Clifton House & Zoom

£6 (£5 concession)

To mark International Women’s Day, join Dr Lauren Smyth, Clifton House Historian, and Dr Robyn Atcheson, renowned social historian, as they tell you stories of Belfast’s Remarkable Women.

Hear stories of the women who called the Belfast Poor House their home such as Nancy Rice – a young girl helped by Mary Ann McCracken to become an infant schoolteacher. Learn more about Martha McTier as she championed to improve female education and health as well as being a political confident of her brother the United Irishman, William Drennan. Hear about medical pioneer and suffragette Dr Elizabeth Gould Bell and a woman who championed the welfare of working-class women in the 20th century, Saidie Patterson. All these women pushed barriers in different ways, engaging with politics and Belfast society at a time when their voices were being deliberately silenced. 

Dr Lauren Smyth is the Historian of Clifton House who researches and tells the stories of those who worked and lived in the Belfast Poor House, the work of the Belfast Charitable Society and Mary Ann McCracken. Her specialist subject is child poverty in early 19th Century Belfast and how charitable institutions, such as the Belfast Charitable Society, tried to improve child welfare during this period.

Dr Robyn Atcheson is a social historian who teaches and writes on social history, history of medicine and women’s history. Her specialist research interests lie in the history of poor relief and public health in nineteenth-century Belfast.

Friar's Bush graveyard tour

Saturday 21 March 2026

11am - 12.30pm

£15 pay at the gate

Dr Robyn Atcheson leads this special tour of Friar’s Bush graveyard through it’s incredible long history. From an unknown religious settlement beyond the small town of Belfast to a modern 19th-century graveyard struggling with the mortality rates of the booming industrial centre. This tour takes you through the history of the graveyard, introduces some key individuals buried there and tells the story of the city of Belfast. As this tour is led by Robyn, her special interests will also be covered - bodysnatching, the Famine and some horrible historic diseases.

Imagine! Festival of Ideas & Politics

Saturday 28th March

10am - 12noon

Lecture Theatre 2, QUB Medical Biology Centre, Lisburn Road

£12

This talk tracks one woman in 19th-century Belfast, the “notorious Jane McCance”. Historian Dr Robyn Atcheson takes us through the little glimpses into Jane’s life from the local press. Was Jane a criminal, a drunk, an abandoned wife, a con artist, a sex worker, or all of the above?

In recreating Jane’s life in Belfast, we will see the ways in which women were treated when they didn’t live up to society’s expectations. Jane’s story will lead to a discussion of the expectations and rules put upon women and the ways in which the Victorians sought to rescue women who had fallen. You’ll also get a peek behind the curtain into a historical investigation, following the process of reclaiming stories like Jane’s which were not championed and are usually missing from the historical narrative.

After the talk there will be time for discussion, using primary sources as a guide.

A range of tours can be arranged to suit small groups

Minimum group size: 2

Maximum group size 20

Book a private talk for your group by getting in touch.

Full list of available talks on request. Examples of recent talks in the Recent Events section below.

Saturday 11 January 2026, 11am

Holywood Library

Long before Éowyn and Ophelia caused havoc and tragedy across the island of Ireland, there was one storm so catastrophic people could barely call it by its name.

For this special event, historian Dr Robyn Atcheson will bring to life the circumstances of Ireland's only hurricane, the damage it caused and the unbelievable legacy it left across the country and closer to home.

Was it the devil or the fairy folk who caused this apocalyptic event? What does the science say?

And why did stories of the 'Night of the Big Wind' become so important in the 20th century?

Saturday 25 October 2025, 11am

Templemore Baths, Belfast

Get into the Halloween spirit with this entertaining look back at witches in Irish history. Historian Dr Robyn Atcheson will take you on a journey from medieval murderesses and agricultural hijinks right up to Ireland's last witch trial. We will look at what people believed, how to identify a witch and the influence of the European witch-hunting craze.

Due to content, this talk is suitable for adults and secondary school-age children.

Friday 12 Sept 2025, 1pm

PRONI

As part of European Heritage Open Days, this free talk explored the workhouses of Ulster from their introduction in the nineteenth century to today.

It explained how workhouses were chosen as the means of relieving Irish poverty, how they differed from their English counterparts and how they were designed to reflect the strict and regimented life within.

By using examples from across Ulster, this talk looked at how many workhouses survive and why before a discussion of how to appropriately commemorate this dark piece of our shared heritage.

Friar's Bush graveyard tour

Friday 22 August 2025, 11am - 12.30pm

Dr Robyn Atcheson leads this special tour of Friar’s Bush graveyard through it’s incredible long history. From an unknown religious settlement beyond the small town of Belfast to a modern 19th-century graveyard struggling with the mortality rates of the booming industrial centre. This tour takes you through the history of the graveyard, introduces some key individuals buried there and tells the story of the city of Belfast. As this tour is led by Robyn, her special interests will also be covered - bodysnatching, the Famine and some horrible historic diseases.

Thursday 7 August 2025 7pm

Down County Museum, Downpatrick

This free talk provided historical context for the current Downpatrick Workhouse exhibition in Down County Museum. It explained how and why workhouses were introduced to Ireland, what life was like in the workhouse and how the system faced the crisis of the Great Famine in the late 1840s.

A version of this talk was presented at Ballymena Family History Society in April 2024.

Wednesday 18 June 7pm

ÁRAS UÍ CHONGHAILE

James Connolly Visitor Centre, Belfast

Despite the long-standing myth, Belfast was dramatically affected by An Gorta Mór, the Great Hunger. This talk uncovered how and why Belfast suffered in the late 1840s and showed the specifics of how organisations and institutions like the hospitals and the workhouse tackled the problems facing the town.

Thursday 8 May 2025 3pm

The MAC, Belfast

This talk marked the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day, honouring the often overlooked contributions of women during World War II. The experiences of women in Belfast who played pivotal roles in their community during the Belfast Blitz and beyond were shared, shedding light on their untold stories.

Wednesday 5th March 1pm

Belfast City Hall

To mark International Women’s Day, this talk celebrated the women who were honoured one year ago with the unveiling of their statues on the grounds of Belfast City Hall, Mary Ann McCracken and Winifred Carney.

This talk, led by Dr Lauren Smyth and myself, featured the stories of Mary Ann, Winnie and other remarkable women from Belfast’s history.

Thursday 20 February, 1pm

Clifton House, Belfast & Online

The Great Famine, An Gorta Mór, was the watershed moment of the nineteenth century, shaping Ireland and beyond through the high death toll and mass emigration. This talk uncovers how and why Belfast suffered in the late 1840s and delves into the specifics of how institutions like the Belfast Poor House, hospitals and the workhouse worked together in an attempt to ease the problems facing the town. 

Talk at Koinonia Belfast

13 February 2025

Gilnahirk Ladies’ Group

25 November 2024

This talk covers the origin and history of the Belfast workhouse and its evolution into one of the biggest hospitals in modern Northern Ireland.

Stormont Probus

11 March 2025

Carryduff Historical Society

14 October 2024

An overview of what healthcare was available for people in Ulster in the nineteenth century.

Clifton House, Belfast & online

Mon 29th April 2024

Since opening its doors 250 years ago, the Poorhouse was the first to offer free medical relief for the sick poor of Belfast. As the town grew, the role of the Belfast Charitable Society remained central to the expanding network of charities, institutions and hospitals providing different kinds of medical care. This talk explores how the Society treated the sick within its own walls and how it endeavoured to respond to various public health issues. The Society played a key role in the provision of maternity care and the establishment of a lunatic asylum as well as dealing with epidemics of infectious and venereal diseases.