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I was born in London and my parents moved back to Monaghan when I was a kid. Received a great education which stood to me when I had to head back in 1986. Started as a Site Engineer on the sites, we had some craic. Kilburn, Cricklewood and Willesden were my hang-outs. Still in England but lucky to have married a Monaghan girl and raised 3 fantastic kids here. Great memories 😊🥃

The Irish back then was called guests and had to work for a living they didn't get free money food and bored Unlike the new Irish today coming over today

Dowd is a singular performer..... Ferociously independent. 👏

Eamonns a great drummer

came over in .81....went to the states in 85 and never looked back...now back in ireland and happy to have lived thru it all.....

Yes thanks a lot. Did that programme they spoke about happen? I wish another CD could happen, demos & b-sides, Halo 45 ( b-side hasn't made it to YT).....what a version of Treasure! Very interesting alt. versions....yep, they were my fave Irish band too......fcuk, takes so long to catch up with stuff!

Thanx for sharing this RARE GEM!

Ireland is still very backward place 2023 compared to UK an Europe, shitty infrastructure, no metro, most young people still want out of it.

RIP Cathal Coughlan

A DREAM

Can u still make money in the sites in London, are the Irish community gone from North London

I don't know how this came onto my YT feed, but - the last voice, as soon as I heard it I thought that's Eamonn Igoe ! And there he is in the credits ! 'Igoe from Sligo' - if you ever read this, I knew you in Oxford, around '95 ish. Hope you're keeping well ! All the best !

In 1986 I was out of work for nine months in Dublin with no hope. There was thousands of us leaving. I arrived in Finsbury Park in August 1986 and I got work the next day. I slept on a pal's sofa for four months before finding a bed. Once I had a few quid I didn’t look back. When you’re young you feel bullet proof and that nothing bad can happen, that’s how we were. It was tough and lonely sometimes for about a year but then I started to get more stable and had a steady job and a decent bed, and London became my new home. London was a lot of fun in Maggie's Britain of the 1980s and there was plenty of work. Eventually we all got married and had kids. Lived in Ireland for 22 years, and England for 39 years. London has changed a lot, not for the better in my opinion. We were lucky to land in the good times.

What year ?

Sadly drummer Hughie Friel passed away yesterday 10/10/2023 only a year after we lost keyboard player Chris Green RIP

87 to,97...not an easy start, but went to College and things went really well after that. Worked for some excellent companies, if you were prepared to work, great opportunities back then. However, Ireland and family is where the heart was..made my money and came home. Things had picked up, and with my experience from London, I could pick and choose my jobs, and pay..not bad for a girl from a cottage...oh...and the craic was truly brilliant there...great times

Thanks SO MUCH for posting this, John! Goddam they were so bloody great live. Saw them twice. R.I.P. John Borrowman. Thanks for the memories.

I arrived in london in 1989 aged 17 from meath. I took a bus from dublin to Victoria station. I had never wittnesd so many people rushing around in all directions. I stayed in woodgreen. I had no qualifications. Over the years i delivered pizzas. Did security. Was a white van man. Then my russian friend noticed i was quite mechanically minded and he got me a job doing building services maintenance. My wage was about 400 a week. I was loaded. Then my Russian mate got me another job maintaining tube trains in the northern line. 1100 a week. I hit the jackpot. I moved jobs quite often over the years. London has lots of opportunities but sometimes it's not what you know but who you know. London gave me the money to allow me to travel the world being that flights are nuch cheaper than flying from other airports. Todays london is a different place. Iv seen 1 room in a shared house in north london go for 300 a week. There are too many people on benefits sitting about all day in accommodation that the workforce need. Prices are rising by the minute. A single person needs to take home 1000 a week in london to make it worth it. And out of that if you cant save 400 there is no point.

We only wear one jacket at a time these days.

Surprised so few younger commentators know of my work: The Men Who Built Britain, McAlpine's Men, and Voices of the men who built Britain (CD). ruclips.net/video/NNrRojjzhdY/видео.html

In the 19th century, the biggest immigrant community in the UK was Irish. In London, it wouldn't surprise me if the majority of the white English population has some Irish ancestry (or if not the majority, a large minority will have an Irish grandparent or great grandparent or great great grandparent, at least).

Brilliant, atmospheric film. How empty London looks compared to today.

Fabulous John!

Great band John is another missed Irish poet

Fantastic.

still watching it, after 10 years man.

Crazy, britain was having to import irish workers cuz the british was buggering off germany, as in auf wiedersehen pet, the way the cookie crumbles..

Thanks John.

Landed in London 1986. Old school friends put me up for 3 months in Acton, worked in construction. All these stories so familiar. Went to Birmingham and been here since. I have had some great experiences and some bad ones

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Got here in January 89, broken marriage at home, didnt know anyone but had loads of advantages. 33 years old, good work ethic, didnt drink or smoke and could drive and maintain anything that was put in front of me. A busy time here in London and not enough skilled operators. I took full advantage of it and managed to pay of the mortgage on the house at home in 10 months. Im 33 years here now still driving cranes, got my own gaf and a few pound behind me. Still in good health and doing good. Sorry I didnt leave ireland a lot sooner, I'd have had a great life.

Wouldn’t it be interesting to do a follow up film on these individuals.

Great this was documented in film. So many Irish who travelled over before this generation their stories are lost in time.

I went over to London in January 1989 aged 17, worked on the building sites £25 a day and one job paid £30 a day - 7 days work and £210 pay I felt like a millionaire compared to what my buddies back home were earning stacking beans in Quinnsworth…..but I missed home and I’m glad I came home. Great video.

If you can't make it in London you won't make it anywhere else. Those who want to go home should never have left the farm.

The car reg QPR

Lots of irish made fortunes in UK and sadly thousands drank themselves into and early grave

I spent 28 years in London. Great fucking base to earn lots of fast cash and head to the airports

Brutalist architecture is a love hate thing !

I loved these stories when I was I kid in the 70s. I remember sitting in the back of our family car and my mum would come out of the paper shop on a dark winter evening with our weekly comics. We had Beano, Dandy, Valiant & Lion, Cor. Real stories with proper characters, I feel sorry for the kids of today who just have bias politically correct brain washing shite with no real story. I wish a film could be made of Janus Stark or Dam Eterno. They were my favourite characters.

My uncles William Toland. Very proud he made it on this footage xo

I used to devour these stories when I was a kid. Adam Eterno, Janus Stark, Kelly's Eye, the Spider, Spellbinder. Those were the days!

Great piece of film. I know a few of those good Buncrana heads! Eve Roe

The guy at 13:15 seems like a bit of an asshole tbh

Time to emigrate again

"It will become very inhospitable" it certainly did, I lived 15 years in London, I left already, although I miss it, the quality of life is truly shite

1980s craic epidemic....

good doc

It was exactly what I thought about it in the 80s, I could not find a job that could pay for a room, had to share with 6 in hotel, met some incredible friends there though, lost broke but who cares, heard people with some trades saying they were better off labouring. I. R. A. Bombs and all that, most of the original English were OK, some of them bitter, not surprised. Irish people were absolutely everywhere. I am older now, even drinking a whole pint of water makes me sick now. How can Irish people maintain thier mental health drinking even a fraction of what they drank. It's was a mad destructive culture. Irish people these days are different I think.

I just thought of this guy,typed in "Adam eterno" on youtube an'this came up.Great upload.by the way im from Cork myself born in 66 and love drawing