By Julie McLaughlin
A local woman has been featured in a new exhibition in Belfast.
Bridie Smyth, who runs Pine Tree Hollow Glamping in Leitrim, is one of 15 women featured in the exhibition titled The Working Lives of Women in Northern Ireland. It is being showcased in the foyer of the BA building on the Ulster University Belfast campus. The exhibition, which opened on Thursday and runs until 3 November, is free to view.
Bridie said she was “delighted” to be part of this unique exhibition and to attend the launch event with her three daughters — Niamh, Aoife, and Kyla.
The exhibition, a collaboration between Ulster University and Epic Futures NI, forms part of the UK-wide 2025 Economic and Social Research Council Festival of Social Science.
Led by Dr Amy Heaps, Dr Dami Osekita and Dr Susann Power from Ulster University, The Working Lives of Women in Northern Ireland is described as a journey-style exhibition that explores the diverse experiences of women in both paid and unpaid forms of work across the region.
Drawing inspiration from the Monument to the Unknown Woman Worker statue on Great Victoria Street, the free exhibition uses photographs and written testimonies to share the lives of women throughout Northern Ireland.
“It invites visitors to reflect critically on how women’s contributions — from employment to childcare, eldercare, housework, and community roles — have historically been undervalued, yet remain central to the fabric of our everyday lives,” the university website said.
A participatory element at the end of the exhibition encourages visitors to share their reflections, hopes, and visions for the future of women’s work in Northern Ireland, contributing to a collaborative visual display shaped by community voices and lived experience.
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