The next presentation in the Study of Religions Research Seminar Series is on Wednesday 4 February at 6-7pm with Dr Brendan McNamara

Happening On 04/02/2026

Isabella Honan: Wills and Historical Reconstruction

This research 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 used such documentation 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 of 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.

Dr Brendan McNamara is an historian of religions with special interest in 'East West' encounters at the turn of the 20th century. His interests also include the history of the Bahá'í Faith, the religious landscape in Ireland before independence, and the contribution of Irish scholar administrators to the production of knowledge around religions in colonial India. His publications include: The Reception of 'Abdu'l-Bahá in Britain; East comes West, Leiden: Brill, 2021 and The Study of Religions in Ireland; Past, Present and Future (Editor with Hazel O'Brien), London: Bloomsbury, 2022.

All Welcome To Join Us On Teams! Please contact Dr Jenny Butler for more information on j.butler@ucc.ie