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An Unconsidered People: The Irish in London
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. For many of these youthful emigrants, exile held the promise of adventure and excitement, freedom from the oppressions of de Valera's Ireland. Yet no two emigrant experiences were the same. 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.
245 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2003
17 people are currently reading
143 people want to read
About the author
Catherine Dunne
26 books118 followersMost writers serve a very long apprenticeship.
I became a fulltime writer in 1995, but I’ve been writing ever since I can remember. From short – very short – stories as a child to the usual excruciating poetry as a teenager: I’ve probably being putting words on paper for almost half a century now. What a thought.
As a child, it took me a few years to learn that there was a difference between reading and writing. For me, if you loved books, then of course you were going to try and write your own. But that was an almost impossible ambition in the Ireland where I grew up. I did the next best thing: the thing that kept me closest to books. I became a teacher, and I taught, very happily, for seventeen years. I loved teaching and still very much enjoy the Creative Writing workshops that I often facilitate.
But writing increasingly became a compulsion, almost an obsession. Nothing else satisfied in the way that writing satisfied, and so I continued to attempt poetry, short stories, non-fiction essays, honing my craft, serving my apprenticeship, until I finally finished my first novel, In the Beginning.
In the Beginning was published in 1997 and was very well-received, both critically and popularly. It was translated into several languages and went on to be shortlisted for the ‘Bancarella’ – the Italian booksellers’ prize.
A Name for Himself followed a year later, and was short listed for the Kerry Fiction Prize.
Between 2000 and 2014, I have published seven further novels: The Walled Garden, Another Kind of Life, Something Like Love, At a Time Like This, Set in Stone, Missing Julia and The Things We Know Now.
My non-fiction book, An Unconsidered People was published in 2003.
I’ve also written short stories and non-fiction pieces for various publications, among them Moments, Travelling Light, and Irish Girls about Town.
I receive a lot of requests to discuss various aspects of the creative process: the role played by inspiration, imagination, dedication and craft. I can’t answer all of these questions individually, so part of this website has been dedicated to a ‘Readers’ Forum’ in order to attempt to answer the most frequently-asked questions.
I became a fulltime writer in 1995, but I’ve been writing ever since I can remember. From short – very short – stories as a child to the usual excruciating poetry as a teenager: I’ve probably being putting words on paper for almost half a century now. What a thought.
As a child, it took me a few years to learn that there was a difference between reading and writing. For me, if you loved books, then of course you were going to try and write your own. But that was an almost impossible ambition in the Ireland where I grew up. I did the next best thing: the thing that kept me closest to books. I became a teacher, and I taught, very happily, for seventeen years. I loved teaching and still very much enjoy the Creative Writing workshops that I often facilitate.
But writing increasingly became a compulsion, almost an obsession. Nothing else satisfied in the way that writing satisfied, and so I continued to attempt poetry, short stories, non-fiction essays, honing my craft, serving my apprenticeship, until I finally finished my first novel, In the Beginning.
In the Beginning was published in 1997 and was very well-received, both critically and popularly. It was translated into several languages and went on to be shortlisted for the ‘Bancarella’ – the Italian booksellers’ prize.
A Name for Himself followed a year later, and was short listed for the Kerry Fiction Prize.
Between 2000 and 2014, I have published seven further novels: The Walled Garden, Another Kind of Life, Something Like Love, At a Time Like This, Set in Stone, Missing Julia and The Things We Know Now.
My non-fiction book, An Unconsidered People was published in 2003.
I’ve also written short stories and non-fiction pieces for various publications, among them Moments, Travelling Light, and Irish Girls about Town.
I receive a lot of requests to discuss various aspects of the creative process: the role played by inspiration, imagination, dedication and craft. I can’t answer all of these questions individually, so part of this website has been dedicated to a ‘Readers’ Forum’ in order to attempt to answer the most frequently-asked questions.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
September 25, 2020
Argomento interessante, la diaspora irlandese del Novecento e le difficoltà culturali a confrontarsi con questo pezzo di storia, specie con il ricordo dei governi che proprio incoraggiavano ad andarsene e a togliersi "dal groppone" del welfare nazionale. Io faccio volontariato con i richiedenti asilo oggi, e ci sono tanti, tanti punti di contatto tra il modo i cui molti emigranti vivevano e le situazioni che accettano loro dopo essere usciti dai centri di accoglienza per massimizzare i soldi da mandare a casa. E su tante altre cose.
Un po' lenta la lettura perché le interviste alla fin fine si assomigliano un po' tutte. Forse non da leggere la sera alla fine di giornate di lavoro pesanti (come ho fatto io).
Un po' lenta la lettura perché le interviste alla fin fine si assomigliano un po' tutte. Forse non da leggere la sera alla fine di giornate di lavoro pesanti (come ho fatto io).
March 29, 2023
This was a very unique book. I had never come across anything written about Irish immigrants to England. I didn't know what "unconsidered: meant but the book explains in detail. The people in this book left Ireland in the 50's, 60's and 70's. The left because jobs were very hard to come by. Those from rural areas from farms has to leave because it was only the eldest sons who inherited the farm. Others, including daughters, had to leave. Often on daughter stayed behind and they were stuck for their lifetime on the farm taking care of the parents. Women, as well as men left to live in a society that was less constrictive, where they had more freedom to live without the constant surveillance of family and neighbors. There were many young women who came because they were pregnant, and many, after their babies were adopted, stayed in London.
Many Irish men worked on building sites, and many never got any benefits and when work stopped, their was no retirement or other benefits. Most of these men thought they'd been paying into the system their whole lives, only to discover they had been deceived by their employers. Many said that Irish bosses were the worst, very abusive, and they looked for English supervisors when they could.
A number of people interviewed said they were grateful for their lives in England and criticized fellow Irish immigrants who had nothing good to say about the English or England, yet kept living and working there. Some Irish who went to London never returned to Ireland. Some who returned found a different country.
Unconsidered means that these immigrants were ignored by their government. Under De Valera, Ireland was idealized, with large families, and farms being the heart of the nation. The fact that people couldn't survive in this kind of society was ignored and the many who left weren't thought about - they weren't considered, as if they'd never existed.
If anything, this book breaks down the idealized view that many outsiders have of Ireland. The reality of immigration - in the case of the Irish going to Ireland "push migration" - was many times tragic. The poorest immigrants in England for decades were the Irish. Many lived alone, and too many slid into alcoholism.
An important book for readers who are interested in contemporary Ireland, and the history of immigration anywhere.
Many Irish men worked on building sites, and many never got any benefits and when work stopped, their was no retirement or other benefits. Most of these men thought they'd been paying into the system their whole lives, only to discover they had been deceived by their employers. Many said that Irish bosses were the worst, very abusive, and they looked for English supervisors when they could.
A number of people interviewed said they were grateful for their lives in England and criticized fellow Irish immigrants who had nothing good to say about the English or England, yet kept living and working there. Some Irish who went to London never returned to Ireland. Some who returned found a different country.
Unconsidered means that these immigrants were ignored by their government. Under De Valera, Ireland was idealized, with large families, and farms being the heart of the nation. The fact that people couldn't survive in this kind of society was ignored and the many who left weren't thought about - they weren't considered, as if they'd never existed.
If anything, this book breaks down the idealized view that many outsiders have of Ireland. The reality of immigration - in the case of the Irish going to Ireland "push migration" - was many times tragic. The poorest immigrants in England for decades were the Irish. Many lived alone, and too many slid into alcoholism.
An important book for readers who are interested in contemporary Ireland, and the history of immigration anywhere.
Want to read
April 22, 2024___________________________________
FROM BOOK: The Passenger #17 Irlanda (William Atkins, Ursula Barry, Sara Baume, Mark Devenport, Catherine Dunne, Brendan Fanning, Keiran Goddard, Caelainn Hogan, Manchán Magan, Colum McCann, Lyra Mckee, Mark O'Connell, Lisa McInerney, Mirko Zilahy)
FROM BOOK: The Passenger #17 Irlanda (William Atkins, Ursula Barry, Sara Baume, Mark Devenport, Catherine Dunne, Brendan Fanning, Keiran Goddard, Caelainn Hogan, Manchán Magan, Colum McCann, Lyra Mckee, Mark O'Connell, Lisa McInerney, Mirko Zilahy)
March 25, 2008
This book explicitly is not a comprehensive account of the mass-migration from ireland in the mid-twentieth century. However, it is an important record of the personal stories of those that participated in it, their memories of Ireland and their fate in London.
The book is interview-based and lets each interviewee tell their story in their own way. The style of writing is therefore very personal and changeable from one chapter to the next. However, it is a record of a large, marginalised community shunned by both their country of origin and their state of residence. It is an interesting source text in a narrative largely unnoticed.
The book is interview-based and lets each interviewee tell their story in their own way. The style of writing is therefore very personal and changeable from one chapter to the next. However, it is a record of a large, marginalised community shunned by both their country of origin and their state of residence. It is an interesting source text in a narrative largely unnoticed.
April 13, 2023
A fascinating collection of interviews with Irish migranting to England in the 50s and 60s. As a case study it does a great job potraying the complex phenomena of what migration does to one's own sense of identity.
Even in the case of relatively similar cultures, no real languange barrier, geographical proximity - the empiricial qualitative material shows how deep one's native, cultural roots really can be and how rare real assimilation actually is. As an example; even after 50 years in England, several interviewees still speak of Ireland as "home" and only having Irish friends.
Even in the case of relatively similar cultures, no real languange barrier, geographical proximity - the empiricial qualitative material shows how deep one's native, cultural roots really can be and how rare real assimilation actually is. As an example; even after 50 years in England, several interviewees still speak of Ireland as "home" and only having Irish friends.
November 12, 2025
I picked this book up after seeing the author speak at a book festival in Dublin. It's a really insightful book and given that it was originally written over twenty years ago, it nearly serves as two time capsules. The 50s/60s but also the 00s when attitudes around the church were only beginning to change. I had to grit my teeth reading some parts but reminded myself it was of its time!
October 3, 2021
As a daughter of Irish parents I could relate to this book my sister recommended this book and it was a brilliant read my parents told us stories in how they survived the early days in London in the 1950s and what they had to put up with a brilliant read highly recommended
March 22, 2025
Assai interessante, ci presenta in modo semplice e chiaro i problemi legati ad una immigrazione di massa di irlandesi nel dopo guerra in Inghilterra.
Queste considerazioni sarebbero da utilizzare anche adesso nei confronti di altri immigrati per problemi economici.
Queste considerazioni sarebbero da utilizzare anche adesso nei confronti di altri immigrati per problemi economici.
December 21, 2016
The introduction was repetitive and it took time for me to get into. Once I actually started reading the interviews however I flew through this book. The interviews were on the whole mixed although I expected at least one interviewee to be one of the immigrants that were much spoken of i.e. one of the girls who had given up a baby or one of the men who were now stuck in London isolated and without stamps paid. There was much said of these people but it was a shame none of them had been found and given their own voice.
While I found the interviews extremely interesting from a social history perspective and also very topical what with current views in the UK toward immigrants (what with the recent Brexit vote) unfortunately the book (published in 2003) is now rather dated what with the Galtymore Club now closed and other major developments in the past thirteen years. It was interesting that a couple of the interviewees did predict the 2008 financial crash and the consequences in Ireland at any rate.
There could have been more much to this book but it's a good introduction and certainly got me interested to find out more. Perhaps it's ready for an update however.
While I found the interviews extremely interesting from a social history perspective and also very topical what with current views in the UK toward immigrants (what with the recent Brexit vote) unfortunately the book (published in 2003) is now rather dated what with the Galtymore Club now closed and other major developments in the past thirteen years. It was interesting that a couple of the interviewees did predict the 2008 financial crash and the consequences in Ireland at any rate.
There could have been more much to this book but it's a good introduction and certainly got me interested to find out more. Perhaps it's ready for an update however.
April 15, 2013
This book is well worth a read.Its a real eye-opener on what it was like for Irish immigrants in London inthe 50's and 60's and the harsh reality faced by many, but some happy accounts too.
As an Irish person settled in London these accounts were very interesting.
As an Irish person settled in London these accounts were very interesting.
May 1, 2012
A real insight - read it if you dare see the truth about how the irish treated the Irish in London back in 50s England. Open minds learn much.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews