Dublin Tenement Life: An Oral History

by Kevin C. Kearns

In Dublin Tenement Life , historian Kevin C. Kearns presents a fascinating, often heartbreaking look at life in the slums of Dublin from the early nineteenth century to the middle of the twentieth. Gathering original and authentic oral testimonies from survivors of the old Dublin tenements and presenting along with the social and historical background, as well as a valuable collection of photographs, Kearns shows what life was like in Europe's most wretched slums. Their accounts are sometimes tragic, but always moving. Equally, they are an inspiring chronicle of struggle, survival, and the triumph of the human spirit.

For readers of books such as A Star Called Henry or Angela's Ashes , for fans of Studs Terkel--or for anyone fascinated by modern Irish history-- Dublin Tenement Life will fill a gap in our knowledge about Irish urban life.

Genres: History, Ireland, Nonfiction, Irish Literature, Oral History

304 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1994

Reviews

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This author did a lot of research. He interviewed a lot of people who had grown up in the Irish tenement. He did the book in two parts. The first is a short history of the tenements. It was done very well and fascinating. He included quotes from the interviews that he did.

The second part was the actual interviews with the people. And they were fascinating, full of information. And they dragged. They dragged so much. I don't want to minimize the stories or the experiences that the people had, but there were so many stories that there were similarities and got a little repetitive. Also, the quotes that he used in the first section had been pulled out of these transcripts so they also felt repetitive.

I understand that every story is important and it would be hard to cut some of them out, but again I feel like this book could have been a lot shorter.

[Anna Snader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating history of Dublin tenement life. A lot of the stories reminded me of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn but that would make sense since the Nolans are Irish American.

[Sheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐ The worst slums in Europe were in Dublin in the first half of the 20th century. 15 or 20 people living in one room, in houses which were literally falling apart. No sanitation and barely enough food to survive led to disease, birth defects, and a high mortality rate. This is a collection of oral histories of people who lived through it.

This kind of book doesn’t really lend itself to a review since it’s simply a record of people telling their stories, along with a couple of chapters exploring the larger history and politics of the tenements. I think it might have done with a bit more of that, as well as more background on the people being interviewed. I can say I really appreciate that the editor/author didn’t exploit or sanitize the circumstances. There is quite a bit of repetition, but that’s somewhat unavoidable since everyone lived in similar circumstances -- the way people in hell might all recount that it was quite hot and the food was always burned. To those who lived in Dublin's slums that would probably sound like a nice change of pace.

[Susan Olesen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. Sometimes it was boring and sometimes it was hard to put down. Some of the memoirs were fascinating, but so many were the same thing, over and over. I've read a lot of tenement books, I have no idea why, all the way back to Riis, and I suppose this is just as good. It was nice to see stories from outside the United States, and see how different countries dealt with it. The ignorance of the people, and the power of the church to keep them all in abject poverty, and the abuse heaped on women, was just criminal.

And it didn't end until fairly recently.

A sad book.

[Stephen Byrne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read nearly all the books by Kevin C. Kearns, for research and pleasure. Really enjoyable and fantastic to read the captured voices of the Irish especially old Dublin people.

[Differengenera · Rating 5 out of 5]

harrowing

[Lyndal Simpson · Rating 3 out of 5]

An incredibly important and insightful oral history of the Dublin tenements told via interviews with the people who lived there. The picture painted from reading these anecdotes is incredibly vivid and you can truly see and feel the place.
I loved the language used and all the 'Now, that truly happened. I seen it with me own eyes' statements after the telling of a colourful story. The hardships endured by women are particularly poignant and reiterated by almost every person interviewed - both female and male. The women bore the brunt of familial responsibility and were incredibly strong.
I feel slightly guilty for rating this a 3/5 and not higher, given the amount of work that the author put into tracking down these old tenement dwellers and interviewing them. My reason for this rating is that the book was quite repetitive. The exact same stories and quotes were used up to four times in different sections of the book. I felt that this was a bit much and resulted in the book being longer than it should have been.

[Katy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really great insight into the Dublin slums of Ireland.

Starting with a concise background history on the topic, the book moves on to the people who experienced it.
A great selection of figures from different areas of the county share their funny and poignant stories with Kevin C. Kearns. We learn about their particular circumstances and their family history, but we also learn a great deal about the traditions of this certain population of people as a whole. We learn not to look on them with pity regards their circumstance but instead see that they in fact lived a relatively happy life, and they were proud of where they came from.

Don't let the fact that it is a "history book" turn you off reading it. It is a collection of short stories and the characters are engaging and, in parts, hilarious.

[Paul Kearney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Forced to live in crowded Georgian houses of disrepair, the dwellers held in disrepute, tell in their own words their stories of misery, jollity and most of all maternity.
It was the women who made life liveable and bearable. The men often living separate lives, to long hours of working,drinking and gambling.
Often 'unfortunate women' (young girls fired from maid jobs, often after being made pregnant by their bosses) Were known for their upmost kindness and generosity, to the barefooted children, who roamed the slum streets.
The Tenements started to disappear into the twentieth century, helped by newspaper campaigns, that dispelled the apathy of a government, that usually came from the landlord class.
'Yet their memories remain vivid, whoever lived in them will never forget them.
Those who survived them will never forget the feeling of a tenement'

[John Plummer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent insight to a life and time overlooked by history and literature. Through the words of those that lived in the slums of Dublin in the early twentieth century, we see a spirit and strength unknown to most of us in this time of excess, technology, and self-indulgence. My one complaint is that the book is rather repetitive. Mr. Kearns tells us what we are going to read in the general summary and again in specific summary. Then, he has us actually read it. One often questions if one has lost his place in the book and is rereading a chapter. This is an excellent source for inspiring further research and inquiry. It awakens a desire for more knowledge; the benefit of reading enlightening historical material.

[Kevin Cain · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book more definitively about the spirit of community and the ultimate failing of wealth to derive happiness, I've not come across.
Stripped of artifice, this is a series of witness accounts of life in Dublin tenements through a period when Dublin's were the world's most destitute and ill-managed. Though my great-great grandparents could well have lived in them, it is the stark detail of the strong comradery that blooms from the seed of shared disparity that recalls fondly this book to mind.

[Nathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kearns has captured the voice of lower-class Dublin as it was. With minimal editorial input, the lyrical, idiosyncratic voice of the people comes through, forming a portrait of men, women and children taking liofe as it came . This is the material of which "Angela's Ashes" is made, told with no pretensions or affectations; sometimes repetitive but that is a fact of history, rather than a fault of the author or the interviewed. Valuable.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great collection of oral histories. So interesting to see the themes emerge after reading through firsthand accounts: women are at the center of the culture (matriarchal), nearly all account missing the tenements after moving away, and the things they remember: many remember their experience with British soldiers (Black & Tans), and liturgical events. A great collection of history that paints a picture of what Dublin was like just a few generations ago.

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent history of Dublin's tenement slums told by the people who actually lived there, rather than a history reconstructed by historians.

[JOSEPH OLIVER · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well researched but nothing I didn't really know already. Quite repetitive in places as the chapters draw from a limited number of interviews.

[Shane · Rating 5 out of 5]

concise vivid history.

[Stephen Byrne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read nearly all the books by Kevin C. Kearns, for research and pleasure. Really enjoyable and fantastic to read the captured voices of the Irish especially old Dublin people.

[Cary Steward · Rating 5 out of 5]

very informative

I really enjoyed this book. I really learned a lot about this era in Irish history. I would highly recommend it.