Figure 1.--This looks like two sisters. In fact it is a brother and sister, The while dresses look identical, but noyhice the different props yhey are given to hold to indicate a gender, a dool and toy horse. This is a phot taken in 1906 of a younger brother brother and older sister in dresses The children look to be about 3 and 4. Source: Irish National Photographic Archive.

Younger Irish boys were commonly outfitted in dresses as was common throughout Btitain and other countries in the 19th century. This was especially prominent among the well-to-do Irish, a least for fashionable styles. We believe that this was morecommon among middle-class and upper-class families than working-class families at least in the cities. Our Irish archive, however, is still limited abd we cn not yet demonstrate that. Ireland was, however, different than the rest of Britain. Not only did well to-do-boys wore dresses to 4-6 years of age, but we see older boys in rural areas, including school-age boys wearing flannel dresses in rural areas. We see boys up to 13-13 years of age. And this was not the elite, but poor peasant boys. This practice was most common in rural areas, but it was not unknown in towns. This convention was less common among the urban working class, at least for the period for which we have a photographic record. We are less sure about the early-19th century. Folk lore warned mothers to hide their boys from the "faries," so they were dressed as girls, usually in long flannel dresses. I have little information on these flannel dresses. Much of the nformation described below is derived solely from an examination of the available photographic images. Please let me know if you have any additional information or note anything in the photographs.