Forgotten Funding

'Forgotten Funding: The Tontine and its cultural and societal impact on Britain and Ireland, 1693-1900' is a four-year project funded by a Research Ireland Pathways Fellowship. It investigates the financial, cultural, and societal impact of the tontine.

This research is an entirely novel, holistic exploration of the tontine. It examines how the scheme, which was part life-annuity and part life-lottery, developed as a financial instrument in different locations in conjunction with a wider study of its cultural impacts. This includes how women interacted with the tontine; how the public sphere was enlarged through tontine-funded spaces; how spaces were created for education and the performing arts with money raised via tontines; and how popular culture was influenced by the concepts of gambling and death tied to this largely forgotten financial scheme.

Funded by Research Ireland Pathway grant 22/PATH-A/10618