A portrait exhibition at the Whittington Hospital showcases Irish nurses who helped build the NHS, based on an oral history project led by London Met's Professor Louise Ryan.
Date: 16 December 2025
Beautiful portraits of Irish nurses who dedicated their lives to the NHS are now on display at the Whittington Hospital, celebrating a vital but often overlooked chapter in British healthcare history.
The exhibition draws on the oral history project 'Irish Nurses in the NHS', led by Professor Louise Ryan at London Met, in collaboration with freelance radio producer and retired nurse Grainne McPolin, and PhD student Neha Doshi.
Since the NHS was founded in 1948, Irish nurses have made up one of the largest migrant groups working in British hospitals. From the late 1940s onwards, hospital staff travelled throughout Ireland actively recruiting young women and men to train and work in the NHS. By the 1960s, over 30,000 Irish-born nurses were working in hospitals across Britain, including the Whittington.
The pioneering project began in 2022 and concludes in 2025. During that time, Louise and Grainne conducted 45 interviews with retired Irish nurses (43 women and 2 men) who migrated to Britain to train and work in the NHS from 1948 to the early 1970s.
The project received support from multiple partners, including the London Irish Centre, the Irish Nurses & Midwives Organisation, the Liverpool Institute of Irish Studies, and the Irish Government's Department of Foreign Affairs. The Burdett Trust for Nursing funded the portrait photography by acclaimed photographer Fiona Freund, who captured 20 London-based nurses. The photographs recently featured in an exhibition at the Florence Nightingale Museum.
The exhibition launched on 3 December with Baroness Julia Neuberger, alongside representatives from the Irish Embassy and Islington Council. London Met colleagues, including Vice-Chancellor Professor Julie Hall, also attended.
The portraits will remain on display in the 4th floor Atrium at the Whittington Hospital throughout the holiday period until early January.
The main output from the project is the book Irish Nurses in the NHS: an oral history, available from Four Courts Press. Based on 45 interviews, it tells the stories of Irish nurses in their own words through rich oral history and photographs—from training rigours to dancehall fun, exploring their experiences as both nurses and Irish migrants in British society.
From 1948, Irish nurses were actively recruited to the NHS. By the 1960s, approximately 30,000 Irish-born nurses worked across Britain—about 12% of all nursing staff—yet their contribution has received little recognition until now.
The book has become a bestseller and was recently featured among 'Irish books of the year'.
Louise Ryan is Professor of Sociology and director of the Global Diversities and Inequalities research centre at London Metropolitan University, specializing in Irish migration to Britain. Gráinne McPolin is a radio producer, podcaster, and former NHS nurse. Neha Doshi is a PhD researcher and Associate Lecturer at London Metropolitan University, focusing on race and media.