Dear Dymphna,
When I was writing my dissertation, I was intruiged with the description the Halls (see cite below) gave of the hooded cloak as the quintessential form of dress for (peasant) Irish women, circa 1840. One of their volumes contains a good illustration of the hooded cloak. Because I am interested in material culture, like dress, I then consulted a few other sources for information on Irish dress (see below). The hooded cloak was multi-functional and, because it was meant to be long-lasting, usually made of good material and quite expensive (see Lucas, below). If I remember correctly, the shawl later replaced the hooded cloak. So, I think this is your answer--the Irish women were wearing traditional Irish dress (the hooded cloak) which differed from what Australians were used to.
Hope this helps,
All the best,
Margaret
Sources on dress
Lucas, A.T. "The Hooded Cloak in Ireland in the Nineteenth Century." Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society 56 (1951): 104-119.
Jones, Laura. "Dress in Nineteenth-Century Ireland: An Approach to Research." Folk Life 16 (1978): 42-53.
O Danachair, Caoimhin. "The Dress of the Irish." Eire-Ireland 2, no. 2-3 (1967): 5-11.
Hall, Mr. & Mrs. S. C. Ireland: Its Scenery, Character, & c. In Three Volumes. Vol. I & II. A new edition. London: Virtue and Co. 1860s (?).
Mahon, Bríd. Rich & Rare: The Story of Irish Dress. Dublin: Mercier Press, 2000.
Margaret Lynch-Brennan, Ph.D.
Associate
NY State Education Department
Office of Planning and Professional Development
Room 464 Education Building Addition
Albany, NY 12234
Phone: (518) 473-7155
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If anyone has done any study on Irish women's dress in the nineteenth
century, I would appreciate some feedback on the apparently strange sight
of Irish women in South Australia in 1845 ' without bonnets and their
cloaks thrown over their heads'.
Slán
Dymphna
Go raibh tú daibhir i mí-áidh/May you be poor in ill-luck
Agus saibhir i mbeannachtaí/rich in blessings
Go mall ag déanamh namhaid/slow to make enemies
go luath ag déanamh carad/quick to make friends
Dr Dymphna Lonergan
Professional English Convenor
Flinders University
(08) 8201 2079
Research interests: Business English,Plain English, Australian English,
Hiberno English, Irish language words in English, Anglo-Irish literature,
Irish Australian literature
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