‘No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs’ – An Unconsidered People by Catherine Dunne on The Irish History Podcast
Listen back to author Catherine Dunne speaking speaking with Fin Dwyer. In this moving episode of The Irish History Podcast Catherine recounts the experiences they shared with her, the racism they faced as well as the isolation and loneliness. She also reveals the importance of solidarity within the Irish community, the legendary Irish clubs such as the Galtymore in Cricklewood and how many made a better life in the face of adversity.
Before the 'Ryanair Generation', leaving home was for good. Half a million Irish men and women left these shores in the nineteen-fifties, forced by decades of economic stagnation to make their lives elsewhere. For many of these emigrants, mostly young and unskilled, Britain was their only hope of survival. Abandoned by the Irish state, this forgotten generation went in search of employment and security, the dignity of a future that was denied them at home. In a series of compelling interviews, 'honest, angry, and funny', these vibrant voices reflect the diversity of lives lived away from the homeland, an unconsidered people's struggle to plant new lives in an alien soil.