Maryland

. . . about the long ago experience of Irish maids in America.

When the Potato Famine ravaged Ireland resulting in an influx of immigration of young women to this country, many took on work as household domestics in fine houses of one or more stories. This resulted in a quirky little issue surrounding cultural adaptation.

The young Irishwomen mostly came from homes that were simple one room cottages, often with a loft--reached via a ladder--for sleeping. As anyone who has used a ladder knows, whether climbing up or coming down, you face the ladder and grip the side rails for support. However, when it comes to a staircase, one faces in the direction of one's descent or ascent. But the average Irish girl from the country didn't know this because she had never encountered a staircase. Thus, the maids were coming down the stairs backwards as though descending a ladder and had to be taught how to properly walk down from one flight to another.