A New Generation Of Irish In Britain, 1966

The lives, opportunities and challenges for the Irish in Britain which remains the main destination for Irish emigrants.
Many Irish emigrate to England to find work and for some like Joe Cox, they make their fortune. However, not all have the skills and many of those that do have the skills end up in the wrong job.
Mass at the beginning of Sunday and dancing at the other end. That’s one way of recognising the Irish... In places like this they create a little bit of Ireland.
There are now different generations of Irish emigrants with different experiences of living in England.
Emigrant couple Mr and Mrs Lee highlight some of the changes that have taken place for emigrants during their lifetime. Mr Lee say there is a need for an active Irish organisation in England to create a sense of community for the Irish. The spirit of Cumann na mBan that existed in the early years of the century is now lacking.
The tradition of the Irish navvy, where emigrants came to work on the construction sites of England, is one that continues to this day. However, not all Irish people coming to England find work easily and many have difficulty adjusting to life.
Catholic priest Father Dore describes the problems of employment, housing and education facing Irish immigrants to London. He has been involved in setting up services such as Marion House to help the Irish to upon their arrival in England. The service also encouraged Irish men to look beyond the building sites for employment. Fr Dore says,
The idea is not to encourage emigration but rather to have responsible emigration... If they arrive in Euston Station... well somebody must look after them.
One Irish couple chat about the social life they have in London which centres around outings with the Pioneers, the Legion of Mary and trips to the theatre. They also say that they are fortunate to be able to send their five children to Catholic schools. If offered the opportunity to return to Ireland, they wouldn’t take it.
This episode of ‘Sixty Six’ was broadcast on 17 March 1966. The reporters are John O’Donoghue and Cathal O’Shannon.

[@a1jp247]

That's me in the corner. PRAMBULATOR postion far Left.
Quex Rd, our 4 generations. Mums still dancing at 81. Proper Gorgeous my Mum. Dancing now and then in 66 at Lyceum.

[@finolaomurchu8217]

Was that the prams parked at the church, or previous prams in the busy high street, being pushed? It's lovely footage.

[@patrickglennon7058]

I stayed at the irish center on quex Rd back in the eighties, back in ireland now via usa, good laugh in Kilburn.

[@jakej2256]

My grandparents were part of that generations, came over for better work. Ireland may be going through economic difficulty at the moment but it’s much better off than it was back then thanks to the phenomenon of the “Celtic tiger”

[@bizzjoe]

There’s another plantation taking place in Ireland right now

[@bizzjoe]

@@garyhynes6574 .. No they are not

[@Halomans]

what’s taking place rn? bad illegal immigration?

[@ruairi4901]

*Vote The National Party🇮🇪*

[@ruairi4901]

@@Halomans
*Bad legal immigration, we take in at least 50K each year, 500K by 2030 and are set to be a minority in our own country by 2050*

[@clinthill4098]

@@garyhynes6574 The hell they are .Only ones who are welcoming them are politicians , civil servants , landlords who will make fortunes from it and f'kin ejits .Anyone who stood with " refugees welcome" signs should take in one illigal and permanently ,otherwise shut the fcuk up.

[@freebornjohn2687]

One of the things that stands out for me was how cheap the housing was back then. Now NHS consultants are struggling to buy flats in London.

[@ruairi4901]

*It's due to skyrocketing demand, due to mass immigration, UK had 1 million immigrants last year, and they have simular numbers every year*
*Same situation with Ireland, we've imported 1 million immigrants since 2000 increasing our population from 4 million to 5 million*
*This is why we have a housing crisis*

[@MB-pe1dw]

@@ruairi4901 But many of them are white eastern Europeans. It is still true that you could fit all the blacks in Ireland into Old Trafford stadium. Think of that

[@freebornjohn2687]

@@ruairi4901 Its also due to an increased population (ignoring immigration), a lot of older people living in houses that are far too big for their needs and a lot more people living alone, and the country hasn't built many houses over the last 20 years.

[@ruairi4901]

@@freebornjohn2687
*True, I believe that if older Irish were nationalist and honourable, they would downsize and allow their 4/5 bedroom house be used for a new Irish family*
*Still, it's still their house so they have the right to live in their own home*
*We also don't build nearly enough houses*
*And we allow the houses that are built, be bought up by landlords and vulture funds*

[@ruairi4901]

@@shysonofficial
*The true answere to why houses are pricy*
*You can't have never ending demand without causing a housing crisis*
*We will have another 500K immigrants by 2030*
*And yet somehow the government will do this and also solve the housing crisis*

[@Beanbag777]

Where my folks met

[@oscarosullivan4513]

As did a set of grandparents of mine

[@ruairi4901]

*The Irish diaspora are Irish🇮🇪*

[@johnnyfeen1347]

You don't say.

[@healthydee381]

They sure are.

[@jakej2256]

That’s what I’ve been trying to tell people, back in school I wanted to identify with my descent but they sadly wouldn’t allow me. It’s more than just a nationality.

[@rockinblue978]

Really? Wow, I would never have worked that out