ABSTRACT This article explores the sensory and emotional dimensions of the UK School Meals Service (SMS) since 1944, arguing that the lived experiences of pupils, teachers, parents, catering staff, and policymakers have fundamentally shaped its history. The study combines archival documentary research with new oral history interviews and ethnographic case studies. It investigates how sensory experiences - such as taste, smell, and sound - have influenced emotional responses, including shame, embarrassment, and pride, particularly in relation to free school meals (FSMs). Sensory and emotional engagements with school meals are deeply embedded in social and cultural contexts, reflecting broader changes in educational policies, family dynamics, and societal attitudes towards poverty and welfare. The article highlights the stigma and resistance strategies which have shaped perceptions of FSMs across generations. It concludes that a more nuanced approach to the history of the SMS can enhance current discussions on social justice and educational equity.

ABSTRACT This article discusses how women teachers experienced the Irish revolutionary period during the time of experience, rather than in the light of what came afterwards. It argues that, while new scholarship generally succeeded in writing women into the historical narrative of the revolutionary period, it failed to explore the experiences of women teachers. The article draws on several archival collections, to present an account of emotions of protest amongst women teachers, education faculty and student teachers at Carysfort College Dublin. It also notes how convents and convent school buildings were sometimes used as “safe houses” and presents archival evidence to support this finding.