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An Irish Man in London (UK)

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A hundred thousand welcomes or

cead mile failte

to my web page. It will be a miscellany of many shades of interest but it will be mainly concerned with my experience and the experience of many Irish in London over many years. I will explore the history of the Irish people, their art and culture, and of especial interest to me, the ever present longing to return home at the end of our days to this Ireland of dreams and how we thought it was and would always be. I will also deal with some health issues and the very adverse effect of exile and living in London on the health of many Irish.

 

guiness pint

I first came to London in 1961, running away from an inability to settle in Dublin and having to leave a well paid and responsible job in Guinness? brewery in Dublin. London in those years seemed to be the obvious place to go to and I borrowed some money from my father and slipped out the back door. I caught the boat from Dún Laoire and it was with a wonderful sense of freedom and adventure that I sailed to Holyhead. I arrived in London and soon got a job in a pub called The St. James? Tavern in Soho and enjoyed a fairly feckless six weeks before I got the sack. Another bar job lasted a couple of days and I fled back to the support and comfort of my family. My father?s welcoming words home were "I knew you wouldn?t stick it". He was right on that occasion but I had got a taste of the impersonal but exhilarating London life and I came again.

 

Irish design

London was always my bolt hole. If there were difficulties at home in Dublin I could come to London and there was an opportunity of finding space and a means to survive. I liked Londoners from the word go; they took you as you were and were just involved in getting on with their lives without forcing their opinions of religion, politics and sexual behavior down your throat, as was often the case in Ireland. I went backwards and forward a couple of times but was eventually able to settle with the help of a partner and got a steady warehouse job.

 

This relationship broke up and with a stroke of good fortune I got a council flat out in Greenwich and transferred shortly to Hornsey Rise with a friend and flatmate. Having settled with my sister Pat for a share of the price of my Dublin home, in accordance with the will of my father, I bought my present home in Maida Vale. I liked one part of Maida Vale, which is period housing and quiet elegant roads but another part is poverty and crime ridden. For many years I wanted to move out but I have developed a tougher skin and I am now more engaged in the community and the area is showing signs of improvement with an influx of young people.

This little sketch is just to give you some background of where I am now and I am developing a serious interest in DTP, Internet, community and charitable work, Irish and mental health organisations. I am 58 years of age and it is a good time to enjoy a little reflection and to have a closer look at where I came from and to consider the consequences of getting old and being Irish in London.

I have made some studies of the experiences of Irish people going or wanting to go back to Ireland. I am somewhat surprised to realise that nearly all Irish people have the dream of returning ?home?, sometimes to a country and people which only delivered pain and disregard. Many people have repatriated successfully but I believe many more will die with their hopes unfulfilled. It would be very nice if there was an opportunity for Irish people to come to terms with their feelings for Ireland possibly through a short holiday to explore and investigate the complex subject of being Irish in exile.

 

Irish lanscape

I'm bidding you a long farewell,
My Mary - kind and true!
But I'll not forget you, darling,
In the land I'm going to,
They say there?s bread and work for all,
And the sun shines always there;

But I'll not forget old Ireland,
Were if fifty times as fair.

'The Irish Emigrant'

 

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