Whether it was house visitation, instituting an orphanage or school, working in prisons, refuges or workhouses, raising money or simply giving advice, philanthropy became the principal, if largely unpaid, occupation of a great number of middle-class Irish women in the nineteenth century. Motivated by Christian duty, women, regardless of their denominational status, made a significant contribution to the perception of poverty and the poor in Irish society. Through their charitable work they enhanced and expanded the social role of women and made social work a legitimate occupation for them. Ultimately, some of these women claimed that the importance of their contribution earned them the right to take part in the political process. Voluntaryism not alone allowed women to exercise their religious and moral duty to society, it also gave them the opportunity to shape the provision and direction of philanthropic enterprise and to guide it into those areas which they considered to be of major importance. As a consequence charitable provision for women and children developed on a much broader scale than that provided for men. Women philanthropists believed implicitly in the moral and spiritual superiority of women. It was, many of them believed, principally through work by women, with women, that the social and moral regeneration of society could be attained.

The myriad of philanthropic associations, societies and institutions established by women catered for specific needs and had limited objectives. The narrowness of their operations was determined by practical issues, primarily by their financial solvency. Few of these organisations dispensed charity unconditionally and one of the major concerns of women philanthropists was to channel relief to the ‘deserving poor’.