Birkbeck, University of London logo
BiRD - Birkbeck Research Data

    Interview with Jenifer Swan recorded online on 07/09/2025; Interview Accession No: 0UNA-U1X0034

    Cite as: Beecher, Ruth (2026): Interview with Jenifer Swan recorded online on 07/09/2025; Interview Accession No: 0UNA-U1X0034. Birkbeck College, University of London.

    Description

    Jen was born in North County Mayo in 1981. She describes her rural childhood as idyllic, growing up on a farm as the youngest of eight children. Her family was Protestant and regular churchgoers and the church provided their social network outside the family. Jen describes the impact on herself and her mother of her father dying suddenly when she was thirteen. She relates her interest in counselling and psychology to this and her belief that talking is good for mental health. She describes herself as a cautious, quite naïve teenager who was shocked when a friend became pregnant. She talks about pop music including the boy bands of the time. On finishing school, Jen moved to Dublin to begin nurse training and shares her excitement about living in the city and meeting people from different backgrounds. Jen describes the amazing, and occasionally overwhelming, experience of her placement with a Children’s charity in Russia during a break from nursing in Ireland. She talks about her relationship with her now husband.

    Previews


    1 - Audio Track interview with Jenifer Swan recorded online on 07/09/2025; Interview Accession No: 0UNA-U1X0034 (0UNA-U1X0034XX-0001M0.mp3)

    Collection Method

    Úna Gan A Gúna Irish Women’s Oral History Collective

    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

    Offline / Analogue Data Records

    There are no offline / analogue datasets associated with this record

    External Data Records

    There are no external datasets associated with this record

    Digital Data Downloads

    To download and items from this dataset, you must agree to abide by the licence attached to the individual items. If you make use of any item you download, you must also cite it in any publication or outputs of your own.

    If you have any questions or would like additional information, please contact us at researchdata@bbk.ac.uk.

    Full Archive

    Metadata

    Dataset Title:

    Interview with Jenifer Swan recorded online on 07/09/2025; Interview Accession No: 0UNA-U1X0034
    Creators:

    Beecher, Ruth
    Dataset Contributors:

    ContributionNameEmailORCID
    NarratorSwan, JeniferUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
    InterviewerRodwell, PatUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
    Subjects:

    Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > School of Historical Studies
    Keywords:

    Rural, Mayo, Nursing, Dublin, Protestant, Russia, Father’s death, Mental health
    Data collection method:

    Úna Gan A Gúna Irish Women’s Oral History Collective

    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
    2025September 2025
    Temporal coverage:

    FromTo
    19812025
    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: 21 May 2026 09:02
    Last Modified: 21 May 2026 09:02
    Publisher: Birkbeck College, University of London

    Export / Share Citation

    Cite as: Beecher, Ruth (2026): Interview with Jenifer Swan recorded online on 07/09/2025; Interview Accession No: 0UNA-U1X0034. Birkbeck College, University of London.

    Impact & Reach

    DownloadsShow export options
    Activity Overview
    6 month trend
    0Downloads
    6 month trend
    0Hits

    Additional statistics for this dataset are available via IRStats2.

    Actions

    Edit Item (Login Required)