Book review: Researching Ulster Ancestors: The Essential Genealogical Guide to Early Modern Ulster, 1600–1800

(p. 304). Yet, perhaps the greatest strength of this work is the way in which Power seamlessly laces this dense contextual discussion with unique personal narratives. Throughout, the reader is introduced to immigrants such as Mother Ignatius Fitzpatrick who used her musical skills to generate income for the community in Coonamble. Similarly, against the backdrop of complicated diocesan negotiations and extremely difficult living conditions, Power describes Mother Brigid Desmond, who despite having her leg amputated ‘demonstrated her stoicism . . . [by] continuing to teach in the school, being wheeled there in her chair’, a distance of a quarter of a mile. Power depicts the Brigidines as socially engaged and politically aware immigrants, noting how Mother Gertrude Banahan and the congregation at Wairarapa made a donation of three guineas to Joseph Devlin’s Home Rule Fund collection in 1905 (p. 307), and she also highlights Mother Francis Humphrys’ attitude to the 1916 Rising (p. 225). A relative of ‘The O’Rahilly’, Mother Francis was especially proud of her family’s involvement in the events of Easter Week. Power suggests that Irish sisterhoods were ‘active agents in spreading the “spiritual empire” of Irish Catholicism’ (p. 183). There is little doubt that the Brigidine Sisters played an important role in the evolution of this empire, and Power’s work is significant in the context of this transnational discourse. At times, perhaps, the scope of this study seems ambitious and it is sometimes difficult to transcend the minutiae, but this is countered by author’s ability to identify, and engage with, the personal stories of the immigrants themselves. The book is well-produced and contains a number of illustrations, an extensive bibliography and a detailed prosopography of known Brigidine Sisters. It is an intriguing and compelling contribution to the study of Irish immigrant life.