Isabella Honan: wills and historical reconstruction

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dc.check.date2027-10-27
dc.check.infoAccess to this article is restricted until 18 months after publication by request of the publisher.
dc.contributor.authorMcNamara, Brendanen
dc.date.accessioned2026-03-20T12:41:35Z
dc.date.available2026-03-20T12:41:35Z
dc.date.issued2026-02-27
dc.description.abstractThis paper is grounded in the premise that examination of testamentary documentation can be vital for reconstructing social and cultural histories when primary sources are scarce. Read alongside ancillary materials, such as newspaper and contemporary accounts, they can elucidate the obscure. If obtainable, these records present as a form of life writing, often the only surviving self-narrative an individual leaves behind. Scholars have long utilised similar records across different periods and settings, yet women’s wills remain largely overlooked in an Irish context. Consideration of the case of Isabella Honan (d. 1913) will serve to highlight the utility of women’s wills in historical reconstruction. Isabella was the last surviving member of a distinguished Cork mercantile family of the mid-nineteenth and early twentieth centuries whose name is associated with significant philanthropic projects of local and national importance. Little of substance has been recorded regarding Isabella’s motivation and the factors underlying her charitable work. Few details are recorded as to how the Honans became wealthy, and no attention has been focused on family relationships and dynamics. Such is the paucity of information that the singular contribution of Isabella Honan, who bequeathed the large family fortune to various causes, is unremembered; her ‘voice’ is silent.en
dc.description.statusPeer revieweden
dc.description.versionAccepted Versionen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.citationMcNamara, B. (2026) 'Isabella Honan: wills and historical reconstruction', Women’s History Review, pp. 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/09612025.2026.2635171en
dc.identifier.doi10.1080/09612025.2026.2635171en
dc.identifier.endpage19en
dc.identifier.journaltitleWomen’s History Reviewen
dc.identifier.startpage1en
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10468/18642
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherTaylor & Francis
dc.rights© 2026, Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.en
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/deed.enen
dc.subjectIsabella Honanen
dc.subjectWillsen
dc.subjectPhilanthropyen
dc.subjectCorken
dc.subject~Study of Religions - Journal Articles~en
dc.titleIsabella Honan: wills and historical reconstructionen
dc.typeArticle (peer-reviewed)en
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