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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
85 of 85 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
These are absorbing real life stories of Irish immigrants who moved to England mainly in the 1950's and 1960's. Displaced from their homes, coping with the culture shock of the new world and the trials and tribulations that lay before them.
Each story is told in a real and honest way, without resentment of what might of been, just an acceptance of that was the way things were. These are the stories of our fathers and mothers, uncles and aunts, real people still alive today.
This is a part of Irish and English History which has not been spoken about in detail before and I am richer person now for having picked up this book. The admiration I now hold for my own parents, who moved to London in the late 50's only to be one of the lucky few it would appear, to secure work in Ireland in the early sixties and return home to settle. I now see them in a whole new light.
Every Irish person of this new generation accustomed to money, full employment and the riches of the world, would learn a lesson in life from these brave stories of these young people trying to make a life for themselves and the unlucky ones who were left to squaller, often by their own people.
This a well balanced and not over sentimental read, and a real page turner. One of the most enlightening books I have ever read and I just did not want this book to end. Well done Catherine Dunne, and I just hope their is a volume two !
Each story is told in a real and honest way, without resentment of what might of been, just an acceptance of that was the way things were. These are the stories of our fathers and mothers, uncles and aunts, real people still alive today.
This is a part of Irish and English History which has not been spoken about in detail before and I am richer person now for having picked up this book. The admiration I now hold for my own parents, who moved to London in the late 50's only to be one of the lucky few it would appear, to secure work in Ireland in the early sixties and return home to settle. I now see them in a whole new light.
Every Irish person of this new generation accustomed to money, full employment and the riches of the world, would learn a lesson in life from these brave stories of these young people trying to make a life for themselves and the unlucky ones who were left to squaller, often by their own people.
This a well balanced and not over sentimental read, and a real page turner. One of the most enlightening books I have ever read and I just did not want this book to end. Well done Catherine Dunne, and I just hope their is a volume two !
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
By Martin
Format:Paperback
A series of interviews with Irish people who moved to London in the 50s and 60s. I bought it because I wanted to try and understand why people made the trip, my parents both came over to England in the 50s, and much of what is retold in this book echoes the experiences of my parents. Fascinating read, if you are like me, second generation Irish, it does give an insight into why your parents came over, and what faced them in London, when they arrived.
35 of 37 people found the following review helpful
By sonik57
Format:Paperback
My wife is a Dubliner and has lived in London for fifteen years. This book details the experience especially of those who came before her, mostly during the 1950s and 1960s.
The immediate post-war period (typically the time from total independence, as Eire became the Republic of Ireland in 1949) to the early nineties was a time of great economic and cultural hardship in Ireland. Many thousands emigrated to the UK, the US and Australia to escape the religious and socially-stale state that DeValera had striven to create since partition in 1921.
This then is their story, that of the ordinary men and women who 'took the boat' to Holyhead and settled in the suburbs around the road to the capital, the A5: Cricklewood, Neasden, Wembley, Stonebridge Park etc. London's population is ever-changing and the streets are not paved with gold. The Irish who came faced prejudice and ignorance but this is a story of determination and humble cultural life.
An excellent read.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
My Father Loved it!
I bought this for my father who came over from Ireland in the 50s, he found it entertaining, thought provoking and a true reflection of the times
Published 5 days ago by Lady H
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Read
Very good book with stories of people from my parents generation, resonated so much that I bought it for a very dear old friend.
Published 4 months ago by Margaret Maher
5.0 out of 5 stars
A very happy customer
The book was a gift and it arrived on time which is always appreciated. The book itself is a great read. Very happy customer.
Published 15 months ago by B
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Honest Account of life in London in the 50's
An interesting and shockingly honest account of how life was for the thousands of Irish Men and Women who were forced to emigrate to London and the suburbs in the 1950's in pursuit... Read more
Published on 19 Aug 2010 by curious
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Unconsidered People: The Irish in Sixties London
Excellent read with interesting interviews of interesting people. Perhaps the fifties was the 'Swinging London' for the Irish, before the English discovered it in the sixties.
Published on 16 Jan 2010 by Michael J Dempsey
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pure nostalgia
For any of the thousands who came over from Ireland in the 50's and 60's and settled mainly in North London, this book brings back warm and bittersweet memories; not only of hard... Read more
Published on 28 Feb 2008 by E. A. Edmonds
5.0 out of 5 stars
So Far..........
Loving this book so far (three chapters in) Im absolutely hooked, so much so I fell up the stairs at work today because I was still reading whilst walking!
Published on 28 Oct 2005 by Miss V Brown
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