A little searching via Google suggests that Mother Hen is -in this case- an (unusual; I hadn't come across it before) alternative title for The Irish Washerwoman (earlier, Irish Waterman?), which appears to be a descendant of the 16th/17th century English Sedany or Dargason; though there are differing opinions as to who came up with it first.

What kind of "thesis" do you mean? In English, this would commonly be understood as the written work prepared for a doctorate (PhD) but presumably that isn't the case here?