When one decides to write about the material culture of childhood certain reactions are almost expected. ‘How charming,’ ‘That’s sweet’ and ‘quaint’ are some of the niceties that spring to mind. A cradle then, primarily associated with sleeping, would seem the most passive choice of all regarded by many with sentimental affection. On further inspection though the cradle seems to have led the most colourful and controversial life, in equal terms revered and reviled. Why then has so little been written? It is almost as if children’s furniture held no real importance in the grandeur of eighteenth-century Irish material culture. It is quite possible to scan the well-thumbed pages of many leading books on the history of childcare and find no reference to Irish children. For the purpose of my MA Thesis I hope to examine the material world of children in Ireland from 1700—1830. I have chosen these dates as a rough frame with an intention to focus on the material culture of sleeping in relation to children. It is the social lives of these objects and their agency that interests me. Toby Barnard’s statement that, “Used thus the study of material culture can further understanding of the neglected topics of the treatment of children in Ireland,” (Barnard, 2005, p.82) lends a sense of urgency and gives fresh impetus to my line of enquiry.