Emerald Nightingales. Irish Nurses in the NHS, Film 2025

McGorrian, Tom (2025) Emerald Nightingales. Irish Nurses in the NHS, Film 2025. [Show/Exhibition]

Preview

Image 20297_McGorrian.jpg - Cover Image Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial. Download (141kB) | Preview

Abstract

My oral history film documentary, Emerald Nightingales - Irish Nurses in the NHS, engages with the exhibition’s theme of memory, both through the voices of its participants and its use of archival materials. Oral history relies on the act of remembering, and in this film, Irish nurses recount their journeys of migration and work within the National Health Service. Their testimonies preserve personal experiences that would otherwise remain hidden, while also resonating with broader histories of migration, healthcare, and identity. The inclusion of archival footage is central to how these memories are conveyed and experienced. Historical images of NHS wards, training schools, and mid-20th-century Britain provide visual texture to the nurses’ stories, grounding their words in the sights and sounds of the era. This footage does more than illustrate; it animates memory. When a nurse recalls her first days in a London hospital, the archival clips situate the audience in that time and place, evoking the atmosphere of long corridors, bustling wards, and the uniforms that marked pro- fessional identity. These images create a bridge between past and present, ensuring the audience not only hears the memory but feels its environment and context. The combination of spoken testimony and archival material underscores how memory is layered and interwoven with history. Personal accounts, rich with emotion and nuance, are brought to life through film fragments that embody the collective memory of a generation. In this way, Emerald Nightingales mirrors the exhibition’s emphasis on artistic practices that make the past visible and tangible, whether through photography, installation, or painting. Film, with its capacity to juxtapose voice, image, and time, becomes a particularly powerful medium for exploring memory as a living and dynamic process. Dr. Tom McGorrian is a documentary filmmaker and ac- ademic whose work explores memory, migration, and the ethics of storytelling in sensitive contexts. Currently Associate Professor in Film Production at Buckinghamshire New University, he brings experience as a broadcast producer and director to his practice-led research. Over his career, McGorrian has worked across factual programming for the BBC, Channel 4, and ITV, as well as corporate and international media, before focusing on independent documentary. His filmmaking often centres on oral history and lived experience, using film as a medium to preserve and interpret memory. Recent projects include Emerald Nightingales - Irish Nurses in the NHS, an oral history documentary combining testimony and archival footage to illuminate the migration stories of Irish women who shaped Britain’s health service. The film forms part of a wider project including a book, podcast series, and exhibition.

Item Type:	Show/Exhibition
Depositing User:	Research and Knowledge Exchange Office Admin 1
Date Deposited:	14 Apr 2026 12:08
Last Modified:	16 Apr 2026 09:22
URI:	https://bnu.repository.guildhe.ac.uk/id/eprint/20927

Actions (login required)

Edit Item