{"id":891365,"date":"2026-04-13T14:43:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T14:43:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/891365\/"},"modified":"2026-04-13T14:43:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T14:43:17","slug":"farsley-exhibition-shares-stories-of-silenced-irish-women-and-families","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/891365\/","title":{"rendered":"Farsley exhibition shares stories of silenced Irish women and families"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>An important new exhibition opening in the 1912 Mill at Sunny Bank Mills this month.<\/p>\n<p>Rendition will use weaving, paper making, oral history, ceramics and poetry to explore the<br \/>hidden legacy of unmarried Irish women and their children who were sent from<br \/>Britain to Ireland\u2019s mother and baby institutions.<\/p>\n<p>Running from 24 April to 3 May 2026, Rendition is a powerful collaboration between Yorkshire artist Fiona Cahill and Fr\u00e9a Renewing Roots. It brings together art, lived experience and community storytelling to confront a history that remains deeply<br \/>relevant today.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a deeply community-rooted project, combining:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Oral histories<\/li>\n<li>Creative workshops<\/li>\n<li>and work developed with people who were directly affected.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Taking place in the 1912 Mill, it also ties strongly to Farsley\u2019s creative and textile heritage.<\/p>\n<p>Created by Fiona Cahill, Rendition draws on her grandmother\u2019s, mother\u2019s and her<br \/>own family experience to examine the deportation of unmarried Irish women and<br \/>their babies, and the lasting trauma caused by secrecy, shame and institutional<br \/>abuse.<\/p>\n<p>Fiona Cahill said: \u201cThe British State refuses to apologise for its historic treatment of unmarried mothers. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI hope that by recognising ongoing harms we can create space for communal grief and help facilitate the apology my mum asked for.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"636\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/EXHIBITION_Rendition-x-FRR-636x900.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-201148\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>The exhibition will also feature work created in collaboration with Fr\u00e9a Renewing Roots, including oral history extracts, ceramics and poetry from members of Crann Sail\u00ed, the organisation\u2019s arts for wellbeing group. These voices and creative works will be shared publicly in Yorkshire for the first time.<\/p>\n<p>Natalie Hughes-Crean, specialist case worker at Fr\u00e9a Renewing Roots, said: \u201cThese voices were silenced and ignored for decades. This is not just history \u2014 its impact is still felt today. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe hope this exhibition offers recognition, as well as a message of strength and hope for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Set within the historic mill, Rendition will include a loom installation at the centre of<br \/>the exhibition, reflecting Fiona\u2019s background in weaving and the connection between<br \/>memory, place and healing.<\/p>\n<p>The exhibition is free to attend during 24 April to 3 May, 10am\u20134pm.<\/p>\n<p>A series of free public workshops will also take place throughout the exhibition, giving visitors the chance to create handmade paper and explore autocartography under Fiona\u2019s guidance. Advance <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eventbrite.co.uk\/o\/fiona-cahill-8507694885\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">booking is required via Eventbrite<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Sponsored content<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"608\" height=\"884\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Screenshot-2025-10-03-at-13.23.42.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-191083\"  \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.specsavers.co.uk\/stores\/kirkstall\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.specsavers.co.uk\/stores\/kirkstall<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An important new exhibition opening in the 1912 Mill at Sunny Bank Mills this month. Rendition will use&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":285003,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8814],"tags":[748,393,209403,4884,1860,209404,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-891365","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-leeds","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-farsley","11":"tag-great-britain","12":"tag-leeds","13":"tag-sunny-bank-mills","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116397933237805501","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/891365","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=891365"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/891365\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/285003"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=891365"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=891365"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=891365"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}