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    Interview with Marie Hadley recorded in Birmingham on 22/04/2024; Interview Accession No: 0UNA-U1X0019.

    Cite as: Beecher, Ruth (2025): Interview with Marie Hadley recorded in Birmingham on 22/04/2024; Interview Accession No: 0UNA-U1X0019. Birkbeck College, University of London.

    Description

    Marie Hadley was born into an Irish family in Birmingham in 1965. She had a younger brother and sister and a large extended family. She travelled by ferry to Ireland for every holiday for her first eight years. They moved back to Dublin for approx. five years from 1974-1979. The move coincided with the Birmingham Pub Bombings and Marie talked about how the Irish community was treated following the incident.
    She describes how life was very different in Dublin and how strange she found the experience of attending a strict convent school. Her mum found it difficult to settle in Ireland as women had fewer rights there in comparison to England. Her relocation to Ireland instilled in her a desire to see more of the world and fostered a love of music. Music continued to play a significant role in her life and was one of the factors that drew her to her future husband at age sixteen.
    She describes the family’s return to Britain and how it was to leave school during a recession. She spoke of the youth training course in administration which would eventually lead her to a 34-year career with Birmingham City Council in their procurement department.

    Previews


    1 - Audio Track interview with Marie Hadley recorded in Birmingham on 22/04/2024; Interview Accession No: 0UNA-U1X0019 (0UNA-U1X0019XX-0001M0.mp3)

    Collection Method

    Úna Gan A Gúna Irish Women’s Oral History Project

    Interviews with a range of women born in Ireland during the twentieth century or those with Irish connections. The aim was to gather the stories, memories and opinions of Irish women born in each decade of the twentieth century, about their experiences between the approximate ages of 15 and 25. The sample was found simply through women with whom volunteer interviewers had a connection or through Irish organisations. Interviews were recorded and participants checked and approved the transcripts and recordings.
    See website https://unaganaguna.org/

    Data Objects

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    Data

    Metadata

    Dataset Title:

    Interview with Marie Hadley recorded in Birmingham on 22/04/2024; Interview Accession No: 0UNA-U1X0019.
    Creators:

    Beecher, Ruth
    Dataset Contributors:

    ContributionNameEmailORCID
    NarratorHadley, MarieUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
    InterviewerRodwell, PatUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
    School/Department:

    Birkbeck Schools and Research Centres > School of Social Sciences, History and Philosophy > History, Classics and Archaeology
    Keywords:

    Birmingham, Dublin, Birmingham Pub Bombings, music, emigration, education, recession, career, marriage.
    Data collection method:

    Úna Gan A Gúna Irish Women’s Oral History Project

    Interviews with a range of women born in Ireland during the twentieth century or those with Irish connections. The aim was to gather the stories, memories and opinions of Irish women born in each decade of the twentieth century, about their experiences between the approximate ages of 15 and 25. The sample was found simply through women with whom volunteer interviewers had a connection or through Irish organisations. Interviews were recorded and participants checked and approved the transcripts and recordings.
    See website https://unaganaguna.org/
    Collection period:

    FromTo
    22 April 202422 April 2024
    Temporal coverage:

    FromTo
    19652024
    Statement on legal, ethical, and access issues:

    The research proposal was ethically approved by the School of Historical Studies at Birkbeck, University of London.
    Depositing User: Ruth Beecher
    Date Deposited: 03 Feb 2026 17:33
    Last Modified: 03 Feb 2026 17:33
    Publisher: Birkbeck College, University of London

    Export / Share Citation

    Cite as: Beecher, Ruth (2025): Interview with Marie Hadley recorded in Birmingham on 22/04/2024; Interview Accession No: 0UNA-U1X0019. Birkbeck College, University of London.

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