My mother was a child in Ireland in the 1930s. She said it was a very hard life, she often was hungry and there was a meanness in the people that comes from bitter poverty - there was terrible class snobbery, teachers were nasty and mean... she says life is much better now and the young people are kinder towards each other than in her day.
She wasnt telling any lies...children were beaten at school and beaten at home. Horrible times, and if a person came from a poor family...my oh my. And most people were very poor....hard times,
My mother left Ireland as a teenager in the 1950s after her parents had died and she had no home. She was recruited to work as a live-in chambermaid in England. I lived in Ireland myself as an adult in the 1990s. There is much that is and was lovely about Ireland, but alcoholism was, and still is, a huge problem amongst the men. Women of my mother's generation who stayed in Ireland all too often had 10 or more children they couldn't afford to look after, and a husband who drank most of the paltry amount of money he earned.
NoNoNWO ..my late mother was born in Galway 1931 and it was a hard life but the life had consolations we have long lost. Sad to see these films knowing the people in them have long gone
My dad came from Galway in 49 grew up on the farm. Came over with 2 friends with the close on their back he was my role model. Thank you for letting me share
I was born in Bessbourough, Cork just near Cork city, in a mother baby home in 1953. Quite interesting to see film of people walking before me. Just loved the clips of the children.
When I see this movie I think of my parents village in Portugal. The life was exactly like this and the houses also in the same without good roof. And also the stones of the walls
In the rare aul times 😢 Irish identity and our traditions are woven into the fabric of Eire, there are many who use the new age media and devices to cherish our humble but blessed heritage that we struggled to maintain. Things have changed but those who were well raised know to respect and take heed of our elders. 🇮🇪
People say it has changed and like everywhere it has changed of course but when you drift off to the countryside you can still feel its strong character and it takes your imagination away and gives you a wonderful feeling .Amen.
Great video and just to see how wonderful the people were then they went through a lot of hardship and pain Yet remained upbeat and always had a big welcome for everyone God bless them all
@@tommercury3349 If I may interject, I would say that the short film wasn't exactly "fake" but was full of "baloney" and jaunty Americo-speak to suit the perceived market over there. It was however replete with priceless footage of a culture now gone forever. I'm from rural Western Ireland and I found it interesting that a number of respondents of Portuguese descent found lot in common with the lifestyle glimpsed here.
@@martini3524 the west of Eire had a strong connection with Europeans and the world for hundreds of years in spite of the invaders. Spanish and Portuguese would be back and forth, sharing and learning
@@tommercury3349 - and don't forget, it was Gaels who also 'invaded' some places (and eachother). It makes sense that Ireland was connected to northern Canada and also Spain and Portugal, as it is the sailing ease direction, whereas eastern Britain is/was connected to what is now, northern France, Lowland countries, Scandinavia ( East Scotland, NE England ).
my grandfather walked to fairs in bare feet and stood all day in pouring rain selling cattle only to walk them home again 20 mile round trip when they failed to sell them. this was during the economic war in which England traded with us very unreasonably causing the poverty esp in rural areas. still they were a very contented people, used to love hearing the stories and the hardships they bore without complaining. a far happier people at that time for most people. no need for drugs or councelling or shrinks etc that time .we could learn a lot from them for it certainly is not what a man owns that makes him happy is my conclusion.
Thiswas the brutal economic 1930s war with England whoIreland decided to stop paying compensation to the Engliah Landlords for repossessing their original conquered lands The Germans turned up in 1939 tobuy the unwantedcattle - and the war was over
Thanks for posting your thoughts. While I have not the same experience as you described. I do however agree what you have expressed. I often wonder the positive results of hardship and difficulties life throws at us. I have come to the conclusion that confidence, enjoyment of accomplishment, and happiness seems to be a great side effect of many types of hardship. To me this is a great clip.
@@SkyCloudSilence I am not familiar with the person you quoted. I can see how ever not owning anything can equal happiness while the reverse can cause stress and unhappiness. I think of rich people who had committed suicide when I make this statement and people who literally have nothing compared to a 9 to 5 minimum wage worker and the happiness they have. I would take freedom over government slavery any day of the week. I can also see your point and probably the true meaning behind the quote you posted. I guess I took your quote out of context and put my own ideals and philosophy in the words.
My mum worked on a farm as a child in Killorglin ( born 1935) came to U.K. and was a mental health nurse at 18 yrs old. No hoists, lifting was done manually with older adults dementia long stay wards. She now has horrendous arthritis in her shoulders and knees and Drs say related to her job !
@@jamesbradshaw3389 this country was built on agri...all people want is cheaper and cheaper food and to do less and lesser to get it...I could not find a young fella to work on my farm for gold ...and trust me iv begged . Our beef industry has already been destroyed systematically over the last 30 years ...its gone ,90 % of our beef is from dairy cows now ...those animals live horrid lives ...the old suckled style farming is more important than people realise .
I find it hard to agree with people who say bad things about Ireland, I come from a large family who lost their home, we knew hard times, yet we had the very best of times, we had the very best Mother and Father anyone could ask for, they took the very best care of all their children they even help the traveling people who passed by, they were very good and always helpful to people in need. they showed us a better way and never to be bitter or nasty to others, to never look down on anyone also never bow to anyone only God, Jesus and his Blessed Mother Mary, One of my brothers went on to become a missionary priest and has spent of 40 years living with and helping some of the poorest and forgotten people, finding clean water, building schools, hospitals, churches, mother and child clinics, teaching trades and farming, to people who never receive any help or guidance from others. No, I would not say bad things about Ireland
My dad was born in 1927 in rural Tipperary no one ever spoke about life out in Ireland came to England for a better life .The Irish are so friendly with a good sense of humour. ☘️☘️☘️
My father grew up In ireland in the 1930s, in the township of Kilmaglish, Knockdrin, near Mullingar. He was an orphan and was looked after by Mrs Bridget McAuley and her family. He attended the school at Taughmon. He joined the Defence Forces in 1942 and before that, worked in Flanagan's Sawmill in Mullingar.
Despite not being Irish (I'm portuguese), this documentary reminded me of my dear grandmother and how she always tells me how life was back then. Although she speaks fondly about the past, she also doesn't forget how miserable it was. How she and her sisters lived in constant poverty and how often would go hungry, especially during the unforgiving winters. Sometimes people who didn't grow up in these hard times tend to look at the past through the lens of the present and often romanticize it ("life was better back then"), forgetting how difficult it also was. That's why I'm grateful for this short of documentary, it not only preserves people's collective memory, but also teaches us to value more the life we lead today, even if it's not always perfect ✨ P.S.: Just wanted to clarify that when I watched this video, it reminded me of my grandmother's stories about her past. It’s nothing more than a sentimental text, my intention was not to measure the poverty of both countries and I didn't even bring their religious identity. Have a great day nonetheless ☀️
@@tommercury3349 Rural poverty was very prevalent, in part due to unfair UK trade policies and effects of the Great Depression, which was a global phenomenon. Homesteads and small holdings were cash poor, hunger was never far away if anything went wrong.
@@wmanadeau7860 that's not true, in rural areas,if someone fell on hard times the community helped. Ireland in that time built ardnacrusha, biggest in the world, 4000 jobs in the west. Learn our history please
@@tommercury3349 I went to Primary school at Parteen in the late 50’s .My parents had a home near Killaloe , I personally did not experience poverty in Ireland, but I certainly witnessed poverty in certain outlying suburbs of Limerick, Ireland was just like every other country in the world, it had a diverse economy which determines the stability or lack of employment etc. During the 1970’s I worked for Digital in Galway, the IDA gave 7 year tax free concessions to overseas corporations that set up in Ireland, I met my future partner there and had to migrate overseas when the tax concessions ended , Eventually I had time to do genealogical research, I discovered a vast social history of different ancestors on both sides of my parents, it was very interesting, funny, sad, bewildering and shocking, everything from relatives who ran a milliners shop in San Francisco and lost everything in the great earthquake of 1906, famous relatives who were on the run during the War of Independence, one was hung at 18 years old , they still sing ballads and made a movie about him, some became very wealthy and had connections to the Hearst family in the US, others on my grandmother’s side experienced extreme poverty , there was a book written about them also called Angela’s Ashes, I think there is also a movie about that family. After the famine there were three migrations of my family tree to America, the branch that went to work in Idaho on the train projects all died young and eventually that line disappeared. The group that migrated to Boston and Massachusetts all became middle class citizens and there were still decendents there until the 1990’s, the group that migrated to California all became wealthy but died out in the 1950’s, so in my experience the social history of any country is complex and governed by many factors.
It was a hard life, especially if you were living off the land, my dad got a sledgehammer for his birthday, sent to work on the roads at 11/12...10-kids grew up in a house similar to the one with the roof caved in, in the video, one inherited the farm, the rest were shown the door at 17/18, England/America/Australia, were the options, if you were really smart and had a few connections, you might be able to snag a government job, those were the absolute exception though!
This video just shows how little the US knew about Ireland at the time. 'Theres no excuse for a family to go hungry and theres enough for all?' My granny grew up in Donegal and she says that all she ever had to eat was potatoes and cabbage and had to drink tea from jam jars.
I don't recall any real poverty I was born 1932 my dad was a clerk in the ESB. We never went hungry, the usual dinner was potato,vegetable and to give you an idea three quarter pound of steak ( 12 Oz's ) was divided between the 2 parents and 3 kids so you got a tiny piece of meat,Wednesday was Hurrah ! day, mam always had a small roast of pork, delicious with its crackling ,impossible now as the meat is so lean too lean. Afters consisted of home made rice pud or sponge and custard,to which my old grandma used remark," the gravey is gorgeous" food was a bit skimpy as my parents were saving hard for a house deposit, don't know how they managed it, wonderful parents, we eventually bought our own house with a bathroom ! Oh the luxury! Got a present of Woolworths bath salts for Christmas that year,anyone remember the bath salts? Rose, lavendar, we thought we were the goats toe
@@laurielovett8849 You were very well off Laura, even though meat was skimpy. You got a taste, others had no meat at all. But most had lots of milk and eggs. They had custard and semolina too for dessert some days.
I do think the government should give a good grant to keep these old cottages alive.a lot of them should be restored and lived in.tourism can be one of our biggest assets.afterall the Americans don't come for the weather they come to see where their ancestors came from.
The American city of Phoenix, Arizona brought Irish builders and materials from Ireland to build a stone house, a small castle hall, and a thatched roof house all in a perfect rendition of old Ireland.
My grandmother grew up in a thatched farmhouse like the white ones in the film in South Amargh. She was born in the 1900s and not one of them stayed in Ireland. 7 went to America and 4 to England.
My grandad came to England too. His parents had a farm in galway and he was one of 12 I think (a set of twins too that died young). The eldest inherited the farm. He became an overseer for a gas company in England eventually. I suppose there were more opportunity's in other countries at that time. The Irish have spread their genes far and wide 🤣 My mum remembers visiting and picking eggs for her grandmother. She would pick the biggest and they would almost always be double yoked. And her nan would also send homemade butter to them in the post. Sounded like they had a good life.
@@ellehan3003 My mother's grandparents were from Galway and ended up in the north of England. Yes my father remembered the summer holidays spent at the farm in Armagh. It looks an amazing place. Having watched so much about Ireland it seems that it is taken for granted that children will leave and seek opportunities abroad even now. Careers officers are asking them if they will go to England or America.
Tumbled down shack in Athlone-I forgot I even knew that song until I heard it-One of many that my Mother taught me as a child-Thank you for this memory.
Many of my family in Waterford died in in 1934 of Famine Fever and many of our neighbours too. An event that you are not allowed to mention. I am very sad for those forgotten people.
In my country we had the same life, but we were much poorer, than the Irish here. We we're in the villages. The donkey was respected and kept safe, even inside the house in another area, due to the animal would be used to carry heavy stuff, to help humans in this way.
@@annagallego7302 Because he can Anna! Plus how many who live on the emerald Isle would pump out erroneous information about her(then and now) through lying, stupidity or cowardice? 🤔
@Fiach McHugh Ó Bruadair Fiach just a few years before this you had the Lords living in their palatial houses, the tenant farmers(and latterly the small holdings farmers) would of been aware of the luxury life these people lived, would of been aware that there was enough resources on the island(food, labour, skills) to alleviate their hardships. Maybe you think during the famines that hit every now and then, the subsistence farmers(and their families) were having a great time? Or maybe you are an apologist for the newly set up Free State, sweep everything under the carpet, push out the Cheshire cat lrish dancers for the foreign visitors and exclaim"Christ we're a great lot us lrish, always happy, always looking after each other!", it's called trying too hard, what's the dirty linen been hidden? It's the kind of system where evil can thrive as seen in the abuse within schools, families, institutes etc. Now l accept you may come from a bourgeoisie background, and everything is (seemingly/portrayed) as wonderful in your life, and you see things through this prism. But some of us think of the other(no! Not the couple of quid you give to African charities and then slap yourself on the back and say 'What a wonderful person l am!'), those who want better in desperate circumstances, no sure you have the fatalistic 'have a few crumbs off the dinner table' useful idiots for the lrish elites/middleclass, the same same middleclass informed by the rigid poker up the backside Catholic faith, yes its still informed by it to this day! 🙄
@Fiach McHugh Ó Bruadair Furthermore Fiach, before independence in 1921 under British rule everyone was miserable, then hey presto under Free State rule everyone is happy because they have a rigidly conformist 'lrish' elite hiding behind the Catholic faith and the national flag running the show? The same elite breaking all the rules to suit themselves! I don't buy it! 😳 These people who were the small holders, the labourers, WANTED better, that's why they bought better tools, better clothes, bikes, cars, built houses, bought houses, moved into council houses, got their children educated, sought better jobs with better wages and working conditions, and you know what Fiach alot of them EMIGRATED to get that for themselves and their families! Yes Fiach the elephant in the room, emigration, that tells the lie on your fantasy of the Irish Free State..... No, l won't let you sweep that under the carpet! 🤔 People had it tough, they got on with it, they had black humour, they sought levity to distract themselves from worries, but they also had ambition, EXCEPT for the happy clappy 'begorrah' losers who populated the pubs and beneath that thin veneer of a smiley face lay black depression and depravity determined to bring the rest of us down to their base level of the lowest common denominator! I saw through those losers Fiach, l don't know about you? 🙄 Fiach do you think, the homeless in the streets and hostels of Dublin are happy with their lot, the people paying exorbitant rents on minimum wage are ecstatic? Sure they have a laugh, joke, but wouldn't you if you were in that crucible?
The film is indeed a quaint look at Ireland (or The Irish Free State as it then was ) in the early 1930s. It may have looked picturesque but for the ordinary working man (including both my grandfathers) times were tough. Each had hard manual jobs and both died before the age of 60. Modern day Ireland with all its problems is far better and the working lives of their children and their life expectancy has changed beyond all recognition.
Life was hard for the ordinary working men AND women. In this film there are barefoot women in skirts hailing massive stacks of hay. That had to be back-breaking. It's the narrator is describing a humbling and well-fed life borne of the work, essentially dismissing the heavy labor taking place before their eyes. Women can be invisible in every society.
Despite all the poverty and high infant mortality rate,the Irish were in most cases happier than any other European country.tThere was music and song and we were known as the land of a thousand welcomes.even the tenements were known for their generosity despite the poverty.I know there was a dark side to the country but no race is perfect.Éirennach agus bródúil.
Marvellous stuff - many thanks for uploading. I grimaced when I heard the narrator use the term "Irish peasants" - that's a word I've never heard in use in Ireland!
A bit cringe to hear the commentary. Seems to be a typical American view of Ireland, but we went out to sell the leprechaun to them anyway. John Count McCormac left Athlone at a young age any true or false, didn't have any affinity afterwards, so the Tumbledown Shack is not a very romantic image of Athlone. Anyway Ireland has moved on and generally people are better off, with the Galway shawl and haggard faced women a distant memory
Growing up in Ireland 1950s and 60s was great and peoples definition of poverty today is very different ............... we had haystacks galore , donkey's , steam trains and the Beano , Dandy and Beezer. The long long freezing winter of 1962 and 63 was tough alright. We would walk down the road in the snow to get a bucket of water from the pump and the handle would be frozen solid................ we dug potatoes , pulled carrots and rounded up the cows for milking. Great times .............. little did we know what was coming :-(
My dad was born in 1938 in rural cork .he didnt get his first pair of shoes until he was fifteen years old.nearly 60 percent of ireland were small farmers.
I find it very hard to believe he didn't have a pair of shoe's. He may have been 15 when his mother brought him to the cobbler to have a pair made for him specifically. People in Ireland, rich or poor, famine or not had some form of shoe's.
@@barryryan14 thats true . most in his primary school didnt have shoes. my mam came from the city they did have them alright . and hes family never went any secondry school , my mother left school at 14 like most of her friends.
@@ciaran6309 my mother left school at 11. Went to work in a linen factory. Oldest of 11 children born in 1947. My father born in 1943 was one of only 100 children in his road and the only one in his family of 13 who went to secondary school until 18 and studied everything through Irish, as Gaeilge the Irish language. French, Math, Latin, taught through Irish. Ireland has only become modern in the last 40 year's.
ciaran Same year as me in Salisbury with grandparents from Cork. Pity they were on wrong side in the war.....supposed neutrals ...Always a point of friction in our family.
@@ciaran6309 My dad,born 1887 went to the small village school ,left at 14 with a basic country school education,forward 60 years his grandson attending a good secondary school was set a basic,very involved arithmetic question, the answer was available in the back of the maths book, but neither the lad himself or any of his teachers could work out the answer, it was decided by all that the answer couldn't be worked out, it was brought to my dads attention,who looking amazed at their failures, worked out the answer in 5 minutes flat. Not bad for a rural junior school education of the 19 th century, hr even had a smattering of basic algebra,very basic, but he still remembered it in his 80s also parsing and analysis in Englush, the teachers were tough,but unlike today every pupil left with the basic three Rs
I am not from Ireland. but as you see all of these precious fantastic films of our forefathers,no matter where you or I are from'' ahh man wonderful precious human beings you see poverty,but you don't see the rich powerful scoundrels that had pleasure making people live poor , beggars,our very own sons and daughters of yesteryear being used,abused starved rejected its so sad,,not all rich are bad and cruel''but when you see these films'' its heartbreaking' god bless' love and peace to everyone'' please help your neighbour
7:59 ..."Since the inception of the Irish Free State the tide of migration seems to have been curtailed, and this may be an indication that a certain pride in home government is arousing the interest of the young Irishmen, and prompting him to remain in his own country--and well he might, for Ireland is one of the most interesting, healthful, and picturesque countries in the world"... OHH, they left before by the millions because they WEREN"T proud to be Irish. Thank you for clearing that up.
My sister's name is Erin too. I already know that the meaning of Erin is Ireland. I know that Irish people are very loyal , hardworking and peaceful people. In this video , from my eyes I can't see any poverty if the people are smiling . They are mystically prosperous in the kingdom of God . 🙏
Oh my woman in the past were very strong, all done manually. The heavy man was a hard worker despite his heavy weight. Looks like no hunger in that area with full of cattle raised.
I guarantee you that way of life is by far happier than the current bullshit of 2 parents working with kids in creche from 7am. Id choose a life a hard work than this current globalist bullshit we've been dealt.
_egas calybird dear egas in Mayo and Sligo I've sat with elderly that still feed the cows and live rural farming lives. There days begin early with work and happily chat with anyone. They are happy. The south is very social. Still visit with neighbors. They are a much hardier stock. The young would never find contentment but, many old do. Ps I have all the almanacs from 1929-1995 listing the Galway fairs. Another past time is reading. :) . Amazing how they never tire.
Many more of the Irish went to england...not too far from home. In a way, they never left. My folks didn't and I go back 8 generations and still counting.
My Dad was born in 1923 and sadly passed away this March at the age of 91 so he would have been 11 in 1934. I find it hard to imagine he lived such a long life and seen so many big changes. Typically this American paints a falsely idyllic and romantic idea of Ireland back then. From stories my Dad told me life in Ireland was quite brutal and I imagine quite stiffing. In his early life he had to work for farmers and had a life long hatred and resentment towards them and told me that sometimes they would not pay him anything after doing work for them. There were so many things I would have loved to ask him about life back then but I think he preferred not to think about it too much as he would change the subject after only a brief discussion if I brought it up.
+Mark Murphy My dad was from Cork and was born in 1926, he told me that Angela's Ashes was an accurate depiction of Ireland and if anything it was not painted as harshly as it really was. He always referred to Ireland as home though, even though he moved to London to join the RAF during the war and stayed for the rest of his life. He never lost his accent, neither did my mum who was also from Cork. They loved the tenors too.
Stephen Flaherty my own mum was born in the same year .So my Grandfather would have been living in Armagh at that time. God Bless him I never got to meet him.I could watch this over and over again
Galway is not a little town, as the narrator said. It's the fourth largest city in the Republic of Ireland. It's also not in the south, as the narrator said. it's approximately equidistant (north/south) on the west coast.
How fitting this film is now as it was shot at the beginning of the Great Depression and the announcer makes a point of how an agriculture based society will survive thru an industrial downturn. It appears that history is about to repeat itself. Unfortunately the vast majority are no longer living that agrarian economy he spoke of and it looks like Ireland has suffered greatly because of it.
"Honey combed with stone walls"..Famine walls.."Ireland has little timberland"..Ireland was a heavily forested land,until they were decimated by the British for building more ships for their Royal navy.
It's interesting reading all the comments saying their parents/grandparents growing up in Ireland in the 1930s had no food, shoes, drank out of jam jars etc. My own granny was born in Mayo in 1930s and reading these comments makes me think she must have been very privileged. I never thought to ask her whether her circumstances were very different to others but in pictures her family seem to always have the latest fashion clothes and they certainly never went hungry. She lived in a small town but her father was a pharmacist, so I guess they were middle class. It's sad that some people were barefoot and starving but not everyone was.
It's safe to say most Irish were not living a middle class life in the 1930s. A worldwide depression was raging. It's good your granny escaped some of it.🇮🇪✌🏼💚🇮🇪
@@tommercury3349 Are you a bot? You are destroying the genuine comments. Mayo was a poor county. Read the famine records. It is in Connaught. Cromwell's command to those he dispossessed from everywhere else was, 'To hell or to Connaught'.
@@Mary-wo5ln Cromwell never had control of Connaught, did he pass 1ot 2 days in Connaught, it was presented as very poor by the crown force's, this deterred people from moving there for safety. They were encouraged to emigrate, however many gaels did move to Connaught, lived good life's, also fought hard to defend the natives, and run the invaders. That is the true history.
The smile on the fella at the Galway fair is pure beautiful. How many people today smile with such direct unself-conscious expression? The debate here seems to be between the 'Goodness of Old Times vs the Betterness of th lives we live now. I agree with both because both are true. The question is can modern, global, educated people retain the humanity and richness of the simple life and times that focussed on the person and not the things to acquire? It was terrible bad back then in many ways and there's no sugar-coating it. But can't you defenders of 'modernisation' not see what is happening now? Ireland has bought the consumerist-is-superior mentality and has sold itself down the river for the 'better life'. Can't say I blame you, but please don't wear the current Neo-liberal blinders put on you by the new "English Invaders", i.e., the corporate monetary control of your world. Can't we keep the good of both kinds of lives by creating a unique solution?
marynadononeil you are perfectly right, we could do with a multitude of this kind of thinking, but alass you will not ever get this kind of thinking from the political class. There are lots of lobby groups, lobbying the government on different issues, but they will get nowhere, until they take it upon themselves to change the culture towards the Irish persons way of living. Why not set up co-ops to sell Irish products, made by the people of Ireland, firstly at home and later further afield, at prices people can afford, bring back our fisheries, plant more vegetation. We need to become more self sufficient again.
The fat fellow with the donkey would be better off doing a u turn from the camera, and we are informed the he had fathered a normal child. Cringe. Did Pat Mustard deliver milk there?
The past seems attractive because it appears to be stable and unchanging, conversely the future is uncertain and this leads to fear and sentimentality. This film competely overlooks the abject poverty, religious and state oppression of 1930s Ireland.
There was no religious or state oppression. You could choose your religion. They were hard times economically. One had to be frugal, no fancies or luxuries. Atheists love to engage in bigotry. I was born early 50s.
This makes me long to be in that time and place. I can't imagine how hard it would have been to get by, but I like to think in the end, it would have been better than things are today. I don't belong in this modern world.
@@mmidlands5542 If you do a DNA test you might be surprised, the average Irish person has a big mixture of foreign DNA, I thought my family never travelled more than 10 miles outside Dublin, no Christopher Columbus's amongst us. So was agreeably surprised that I had a big percentage of Scandinavian, Norse, Viking , and even Indian blood in me veins Yes I'm a mongrel,and didnt know it. Our family boat must have developed a hole about 200 years ago as we seem to have all settled in Ireland ever since,but now I know where I got my itchy feet from
@laurielovett8849 of course. We had many different cultures travel to Ireland over the centuries including Norman's, vikings etc. People move all around the world as it shud be
@@BoopShooBee They did have houses and land to grow food, donkeys and carts (as labour saving devices) and labour was shared when there were larger families. Water could be heated over the fire. They had chamber pots and the great outdoors for their toilets, and eventually, shoes.
My Nana also was raised in ireland tipperary sadly her parents passed away. my Nana and her siblings were raised by the mercy sisters ophage convenient. I guess that is why she no longer believed in God as what she went through is beyond words
E cosa c'entra Dio??? Gli esseri umani possono essere molto buoni,ma anche ingiusti e cattivi si sa, Ma la Fede,quella vera non dev'essere scalfita dal comportamento umano.
Propaganda that would embarrass Nazi Germany or Soviet Russia. The "older Irish women" are likely in their 50s. The lovely young peasant girl lugging hay on her back will wind up old before her time and with a curved spine. While all of this blarney was being filmed, the Catholic Church was encouraging the formation of the Blue Short Fascist movement and repressing Irish art and literature. For a truer portrait of this era, read Sebastian Barry's "Secret Scripture."
The first "Mom" in the video has Very thread worn clothes, donkeys, not horses, & no electricity. I do not think the film was meant to glamour, but to enchant with the beautiful ppl & scenery.💚
Despite poverty, people had contentment. They did not spend their time moaning or complaining. The ass and cart was common transport. Brought home the hay and turf on the farm and groceries from the town, some heavy, such as meal for cattle or big bags of flour. This is their life, poor but happy. That's why they look happy.
My mother was a child in Ireland in the 1930s. She said it was a very hard life, she often was hungry and there was a meanness in the people that comes from bitter poverty - there was terrible class snobbery, teachers were nasty and mean... she says life is much better now and the young people are kinder towards each other than in her day.
She wasnt telling any lies...children were beaten at school and beaten at home. Horrible times, and if a person came from a poor family...my oh my. And most people were very poor....hard times,
My mother left Ireland as a teenager in the 1950s after her parents had died and she had no home. She was recruited to work as a live-in chambermaid in England. I lived in Ireland myself as an adult in the 1990s. There is much that is and was lovely about Ireland, but alcoholism was, and still is, a huge problem amongst the men. Women of my mother's generation who stayed in Ireland all too often had 10 or more children they couldn't afford to look after, and a husband who drank most of the paltry amount of money he earned.
Nicola Figini Not only Irish lived that life, this same life was lived the same way in Italy.
NoNoNWO ..my late mother was born in Galway 1931 and it was a hard life but the life had consolations we have long lost. Sad to see these films knowing the people in them have long gone
NoNoNWO sounds like Angela's Ashes
My dad came from Galway in 49 grew up on the farm. Came over with 2 friends with the close on their back he was my role model. Thank you for letting me share
I was born in Bessbourough, Cork just near Cork city, in a mother baby home in 1953. Quite interesting to see film of people walking before me. Just loved the clips of the children.
When I see this movie I think of my parents village in Portugal. The life was exactly like this and the houses also in the same without good roof. And also the stones of the walls
Like all of rural Europe in that time
In the rare aul times 😢 Irish identity and our traditions are woven into the fabric of Eire, there are many who use the new age media and devices to cherish our humble but blessed heritage that we struggled to maintain. Things have changed but those who were well raised know to respect and take heed of our elders. 🇮🇪
Fantastic video! I saw the tale end of these days! My dad was from Tipperary! God Bless Ireland - now - and forever!
I went to Ireland once. I left a part of my heart there. Many years later, my heart aches for it's lost piece, yearning to see it again.
Same...
People say it has changed and like everywhere it has changed of course but when you drift off to the countryside you can still feel its strong character and it takes your imagination away and gives you a wonderful feeling .Amen.
Peace
And it rotted and infected a small family who all died, its tourists like you we could do without
Èire is always here, Go to Her & visit Her Glens & Valley's in your Visions..
My grandmother was a Dublin orphan who quit Ireland in 1921. She only went back once, in the early '30s, yet I don't forget my Irish ancestors.
Thank you for showing an era long gone..💕
I think ‘twas a much harder life than what is portrayed
Great video and just to see how wonderful the people were then they went through a lot of hardship and pain
Yet remained upbeat and always had a big welcome for everyone God bless them all
Life was alot harder than this video makes out
Do you think the video is fake
@@tommercury3349
If I may interject, I would say that the short film wasn't exactly "fake" but was full of "baloney" and jaunty Americo-speak to suit the perceived market over there. It was however replete with priceless footage of a culture now gone forever. I'm from rural Western Ireland and I found it interesting that a number of respondents of Portuguese descent found lot in common with the lifestyle glimpsed here.
@@martini3524 the west of Eire had a strong connection with Europeans and the world for hundreds of years in spite of the invaders. Spanish and Portuguese would be back and forth, sharing and learning
@@tommercury3349 - and don't forget, it was Gaels who also 'invaded' some places (and eachother). It makes sense that Ireland was connected to northern Canada and also Spain and Portugal, as it is the sailing ease direction, whereas eastern Britain is/was connected to what is now, northern France, Lowland countries, Scandinavia ( East Scotland, NE England ).
@@martini3524 It is the same style as virtually any nation that was using early Cinema or TV
my grandfather walked to fairs in bare feet and stood all day in pouring rain selling cattle only to walk them home again 20 mile round trip when they failed to sell them. this was during the economic war in which England traded with us very unreasonably causing the poverty esp in rural areas. still they were a very contented people, used to love hearing the stories and the hardships they bore without complaining. a far happier people at that time for most people. no need for drugs or councelling or shrinks etc that time .we could learn a lot from them for it certainly is not what a man owns that makes him happy is my conclusion.
Thiswas the brutal economic 1930s war with England whoIreland decided to stop paying compensation to the Engliah Landlords for repossessing their original conquered lands
The Germans turned up in 1939 tobuy the unwantedcattle - and the war was over
ruclips.net/video/5P50PHCHuwo/видео.html
Thanks for posting your thoughts. While I have not the same experience as you described. I do however agree what you have expressed.
I often wonder the positive results of hardship and difficulties life throws at us.
I have come to the conclusion that confidence, enjoyment of accomplishment, and happiness seems to be a great side effect of many types of hardship.
To me this is a great clip.
@@SkyCloudSilence - I totally agree with this statement or quote "you will own nothing and be happy ". It reminds me of the scriptures.
@@SkyCloudSilence I am not familiar with the person you quoted.
I can see how ever not owning anything can equal happiness while the reverse can cause stress and unhappiness. I think of rich people who had committed suicide when I make this statement and people who literally have nothing compared to a 9 to 5 minimum wage worker and the happiness they have. I would take freedom over government slavery any day of the week.
I can also see your point and probably the true meaning behind the quote you posted. I guess I took your quote out of context and put my own ideals and philosophy in the words.
My mum worked on a farm as a child in Killorglin ( born 1935) came to U.K. and was a mental health nurse at 18 yrs old. No hoists, lifting was done manually with older adults dementia long stay wards.
She now has horrendous arthritis in her shoulders and knees and Drs say related to her job !
Not sure why i watched or how i came here but my heart is bigger now and my imagination soaring. For a moment...life was simple again.
People were degraded beyond imagination. Just look up the the tuam babies case. Not too far from where this video was recorded
The generosity of irish farmers has been spat back in our faces
For too many Irish farmers all that's left is the love of the land.
How are you going to enjoy the 1 million non-EU migrants Varadkar had promised the EU Ireland will house? 🥺
Why do you say that.
@@jamesbradshaw3389 this country was built on agri...all people want is cheaper and cheaper food and to do less and lesser to get it...I could not find a young fella to work on my farm for gold ...and trust me iv begged .
Our beef industry has already been destroyed systematically over the last 30 years ...its gone ,90 % of our beef is from dairy cows now ...those animals live horrid lives ...the old suckled style farming is more important than people realise .
@rivermoon6190 oh take a day off
I find it hard to agree with people who say bad things about Ireland, I come from a large family who lost their home, we knew hard times, yet we had the very best of times, we had the very best Mother and Father anyone could ask for, they took the very best care of all their children they even help the traveling people who passed by, they were very good and always helpful to people in need. they showed us a better way and never to be bitter or nasty to others, to never look down on anyone also never bow to anyone only God, Jesus and his Blessed Mother Mary, One of my brothers went on to become a missionary priest and has spent of 40 years living with and helping some of the poorest and forgotten people, finding clean water, building schools, hospitals, churches, mother and child clinics, teaching trades and farming, to people who never receive any help or guidance from others. No, I would not say bad things about Ireland
Try reading ‘The God Delusion’ by Richard Dawkins. It’s a fairy story, the whole Jesus Mary God thing. You die and rot, end of. 😊
You had fantastic parents and a great home, James
Unfortunately these days a lot of racist irish look down on immigrants and forget our history
My dad was born in 1927 in rural Tipperary no one ever spoke about life out in Ireland came to England for a better life .The Irish are so friendly with a good sense of humour. ☘️☘️☘️
Same as my dad. These were real mem
I agree
My father grew up In ireland in the 1930s, in the township of Kilmaglish, Knockdrin, near Mullingar. He was an orphan and was looked after by Mrs Bridget McAuley and her family. He attended the school at Taughmon. He joined the Defence Forces in 1942 and before that, worked in Flanagan's Sawmill in Mullingar.
My aunt still lives near Mullingar halfway between the town of Longford. It is very beautiful there today !
Despite not being Irish (I'm portuguese), this documentary reminded me of my dear grandmother and how she always tells me how life was back then. Although she speaks fondly about the past, she also doesn't forget how miserable it was. How she and her sisters lived in constant poverty and how often would go hungry, especially during the unforgiving winters.
Sometimes people who didn't grow up in these hard times tend to look at the past through the lens of the present and often romanticize it ("life was better back then"), forgetting how difficult it also was. That's why I'm grateful for this short of documentary, it not only preserves people's collective memory, but also teaches us to value more the life we lead today, even if it's not always perfect ✨
P.S.: Just wanted to clarify that when I watched this video, it reminded me of my grandmother's stories about her past. It’s nothing more than a sentimental text, my intention was not to measure the poverty of both countries and I didn't even bring their religious identity. Have a great day nonetheless ☀️
This is about Ireland not Portugal, Ireland was not a poor country
@@tommercury3349 Rural poverty was very prevalent, in part due to unfair UK trade policies and effects of the Great Depression, which was a global phenomenon. Homesteads and small holdings were cash poor, hunger was never far away if anything went wrong.
@@wmanadeau7860 that's not true, in rural areas,if someone fell on hard times the community helped. Ireland in that time built ardnacrusha, biggest in the world, 4000 jobs in the west. Learn our history please
@@tommercury3349 I went to Primary school at Parteen in the late 50’s .My parents had a home near Killaloe , I personally did not experience poverty in Ireland, but I certainly witnessed poverty in certain outlying suburbs of Limerick, Ireland was just like every other country in the world, it had a diverse economy which determines the stability or lack of employment etc. During the 1970’s I worked for Digital in Galway, the IDA gave 7 year tax free concessions to overseas corporations that set up in Ireland, I met my future partner there and had to migrate overseas when the tax concessions ended , Eventually I had time to do genealogical research, I discovered a vast social history of different ancestors on both sides of my parents, it was very interesting, funny, sad, bewildering and shocking, everything from relatives who ran a milliners shop in San Francisco and lost everything in the great earthquake of 1906, famous relatives who were on the run during the War of Independence, one was hung at 18 years old , they still sing ballads and made a movie about him, some became very wealthy and had connections to the Hearst family in the US, others on my grandmother’s side experienced extreme poverty , there was a book written about them also called Angela’s Ashes, I think there is also a movie about that family. After the famine there were three migrations of my family tree to America, the branch that went to work in Idaho on the train projects all died young and eventually that line disappeared. The group that migrated to Boston and Massachusetts all became middle class citizens and there were still decendents there until the 1990’s, the group that migrated to California all became wealthy but died out in the 1950’s, so in my experience the social history of any country is complex and governed by many factors.
@@tommercury3349 Excuse me, my Mother was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1931. Yes it was poor. Please don't lie.
It was a hard life, especially if you were living off the land, my dad got a sledgehammer for his birthday, sent to work on the roads at 11/12...10-kids grew up in a house similar to the one with the roof caved in, in the video, one inherited the farm, the rest were shown the door at 17/18, England/America/Australia, were the options, if you were really smart and had a few connections, you might be able to snag a government job, those were the absolute exception though!
You would never believe that Ireland once was like this when you see it today. The picture painted was in reality anything but rosy.
This video just shows how little the US knew about Ireland at the time. 'Theres no excuse for a family to go hungry and theres enough for all?' My granny grew up in Donegal and she says that all she ever had to eat was potatoes and cabbage and had to drink tea from jam jars.
I don't recall any real poverty I was born 1932 my dad was a clerk in the ESB. We never went hungry, the usual dinner was potato,vegetable and to give you an idea three quarter pound of steak ( 12 Oz's ) was divided between the 2 parents and 3 kids so you got a tiny piece of meat,Wednesday was Hurrah ! day, mam always had a small roast of pork, delicious with its crackling ,impossible now as the meat is so lean too lean. Afters consisted of home made rice pud or sponge and custard,to which my old grandma used remark," the gravey is gorgeous" food was a bit skimpy as my parents were saving hard for a house deposit, don't know how they managed it, wonderful parents, we eventually bought our own house with a bathroom ! Oh the luxury! Got a present of Woolworths bath salts for Christmas that year,anyone remember the bath salts? Rose, lavendar, we thought we were the goats toe
Jam jars ! pretty well off then .
@@laurielovett8849 ☘️💕😊💚
@@laurielovett8849I was born in 1973 and you sound like you were far better off than even I was in the 70s😮😮😮
@@laurielovett8849 You were very well off Laura, even though meat was skimpy. You got a taste, others had no meat at all. But most had lots of milk and eggs. They had custard and semolina too for dessert some days.
What a beautiful thing to see such obvious happiness and joy amidst hardship and poverty.
Thank you alot beautiful video
I do think the government should give a good grant to keep these old cottages alive.a lot of them should be restored and lived in.tourism can be one of our biggest assets.afterall the Americans don't come for the weather they come to see where their ancestors came from.
I'll build one. Gimme the land.
That’s true. Americans in Ireland are so cringe but they do bring money 💴
I want to come visit Ireland too. My grandfather was Irish.
P T Why cringe?
The American city of Phoenix, Arizona brought Irish builders and materials from Ireland to build a stone house, a small castle hall, and a thatched roof house all in a perfect rendition of old Ireland.
Nice to see an old film of Eire and what it looked like. But hard times for family's.
Its Éire not Eire. Eire means encumbered in Irish while Éire is Ireland.
@cathalodiubhain5739 give them a break. Hard to find a fada sometimes
My grandmother grew up in a thatched farmhouse like the white ones in the film in South Amargh. She was born in the 1900s and not one of them stayed in Ireland. 7 went to America and 4 to England.
It's so sad
My grandad came to England too. His parents had a farm in galway and he was one of 12 I think (a set of twins too that died young). The eldest inherited the farm. He became an overseer for a gas company in England eventually. I suppose there were more opportunity's in other countries at that time. The Irish have spread their genes far and wide 🤣
My mum remembers visiting and picking eggs for her grandmother. She would pick the biggest and they would almost always be double yoked. And her nan would also send homemade butter to them in the post. Sounded like they had a good life.
@@ellehan3003 My mother's grandparents were from Galway and ended up in the north of England. Yes my father remembered the summer holidays spent at the farm in Armagh. It looks an amazing place. Having watched so much about Ireland it seems that it is taken for granted that children will leave and seek opportunities abroad even now. Careers officers are asking them if they will go to England or America.
Tumbled down shack in Athlone-I forgot I even knew that song until I heard it-One of many that my Mother taught me as a child-Thank you for this memory.
Many of my family in Waterford died in in 1934 of Famine Fever and many of our neighbours too.
An event that you are not allowed to mention. I am very sad for those forgotten people.
@JosephMQ Yes please don't mention it as it's quite emmotional for me. Have some respect.
Never forgotten ❤
1934??? Famine fever ?? What the??
Famine fever is a result of the British poisoning the land ther has been an abundance of eveidence to match
Many Irish were slaves and the Irish navies built the road. God bless the irish 🙏.
My dad was born in Ireland in the 1920s . It definitely was a hard life . He used to say there was no Christmas or birthdays at their house.
They must have been very very poor because all the Irish had Christmas, even the poor. It was their big Christian holiday.
In my country we had the same life, but we were much poorer, than the Irish here. We we're in the villages.
The donkey was respected and kept safe, even inside the house in another area, due to the animal would be used to carry heavy stuff, to help humans in this way.
If Ireland lets any more muslims in then the donkeys will be in big demand again.
Very scenic film, but still a rough time for the Irish people.
Why is an American commentating this and Galway is in the West
@@annagallego7302 Because he can Anna! Plus how many who live on the emerald Isle would pump out erroneous information about her(then and now) through lying, stupidity or cowardice? 🤔
@Fiach McHugh Ó Bruadair Fiach just a few years before this you had the Lords living in their palatial houses, the tenant farmers(and latterly the small holdings farmers) would of been aware of the luxury life these people lived, would of been aware that there was enough resources on the island(food, labour, skills) to alleviate their hardships. Maybe you think during the famines that hit every now and then, the subsistence farmers(and their families) were having a great time? Or maybe you are an apologist for the newly set up Free State, sweep everything under the carpet, push out the Cheshire cat lrish dancers for the foreign visitors and exclaim"Christ we're a great lot us lrish, always happy, always looking after each other!", it's called trying too hard, what's the dirty linen been hidden? It's the kind of system where evil can thrive as seen in the abuse within schools, families, institutes etc. Now l accept you may come from a bourgeoisie background, and everything is (seemingly/portrayed) as wonderful in your life, and you see things through this prism. But some of us think of the other(no! Not the couple of quid you give to African charities and then slap yourself on the back and say 'What a wonderful person l am!'), those who want better in desperate circumstances, no sure you have the fatalistic 'have a few crumbs off the dinner table' useful idiots for the lrish elites/middleclass, the same same middleclass informed by the rigid poker up the backside Catholic faith, yes its still informed by it to this day! 🙄
@Fiach McHugh Ó Bruadair Furthermore Fiach, before independence in 1921 under British rule everyone was miserable, then hey presto under Free State rule everyone is happy because they have a rigidly conformist 'lrish' elite hiding behind the Catholic faith and the national flag running the show? The same elite breaking all the rules to suit themselves! I don't buy it! 😳
These people who were the small holders, the labourers, WANTED better, that's why they bought better tools, better clothes, bikes, cars, built houses, bought houses, moved into council houses, got their children educated, sought better jobs with better wages and working conditions, and you know what Fiach alot of them EMIGRATED to get that for themselves and their families! Yes Fiach the elephant in the room, emigration, that tells the lie on your fantasy of the Irish Free State..... No, l won't let you sweep that under the carpet! 🤔
People had it tough, they got on with it, they had black humour, they sought levity to distract themselves from worries, but they also had ambition, EXCEPT for the happy clappy 'begorrah' losers who populated the pubs and beneath that thin veneer of a smiley face lay black depression and depravity determined to bring the rest of us down to their base level of the lowest common denominator! I saw through those losers Fiach, l don't know about you? 🙄
Fiach do you think, the homeless in the streets and hostels of Dublin are happy with their lot, the people paying exorbitant rents on minimum wage are ecstatic? Sure they have a laugh, joke, but wouldn't you if you were in that crucible?
But they were happy
And i searched for my great great grandmother in each of those mothers faces ,from county Clare kilrush to Australia
Old Ireland, land of my grandparents, may I always respect you.
Probably as in he hopes to forever to respect his grandparents for the work they had to do.
It means to not mention the cesspit full of dead babies.
Wonderful film but a bit glamorized. Life was hard. Amazing people.
I love the song at the beginning of the video. Thank you very much for showing this video.
The film is indeed a quaint look at Ireland (or The Irish Free State as it then was ) in the early 1930s. It may have looked picturesque but for the ordinary working man (including both my grandfathers) times were tough. Each had hard manual jobs and both died before the age of 60. Modern day Ireland with all its problems is far better and the working lives of their children and their life expectancy has changed beyond all recognition.
Long live Ireland!
Life was hard for the ordinary working men AND women. In this film there are barefoot women in skirts hailing massive stacks of hay. That had to be back-breaking. It's the narrator is describing a humbling and well-fed life borne of the work, essentially dismissing the heavy labor taking place before their eyes. Women can be invisible in every society.
Despite all the poverty and high infant mortality rate,the Irish were in most cases happier than any other European country.tThere was music and song and we were known as the land of a thousand welcomes.even the tenements were known for their generosity despite the poverty.I know there was a dark side to the country but no race is perfect.Éirennach agus bródúil.
I agree
Marvellous stuff - many thanks for uploading.
I grimaced when I heard the narrator use the term "Irish peasants" - that's a word I've never heard in use in Ireland!
A bit cringe to hear the commentary. Seems to be a typical American view of Ireland, but we went out to sell the leprechaun to them anyway. John Count McCormac left Athlone at a young age any true or false, didn't have any affinity afterwards, so the Tumbledown Shack is not a very romantic image of Athlone. Anyway Ireland has moved on and generally people are better off, with the Galway shawl and haggard faced women a distant memory
Growing up in Ireland 1950s and 60s was great and peoples definition of poverty today is very different ............... we had haystacks galore , donkey's , steam trains and the Beano , Dandy and Beezer. The long long freezing winter of 1962 and 63 was tough alright. We would walk down the road in the snow to get a bucket of water from the pump and the handle would be frozen solid................ we dug potatoes , pulled carrots and rounded up the cows for milking. Great times .............. little did we know what was coming :-(
Stop telling the truth
What was coming?
Those were the days very tough God Help them
They are all dead. God help who
000⁰035s
My dad was born in 1938 in rural cork .he didnt get his first pair of shoes until he was fifteen years old.nearly 60 percent of ireland were small farmers.
I find it very hard to believe he didn't have a pair of shoe's. He may have been 15 when his mother brought him to the cobbler to have a pair made for him specifically. People in Ireland, rich or poor, famine or not had some form of shoe's.
@@barryryan14 thats true . most in his primary school didnt have shoes. my mam came from the city they did have them alright . and hes family never went any secondry school , my mother left school at 14 like most of her friends.
@@ciaran6309 my mother left school at 11. Went to work in a linen factory. Oldest of 11 children born in 1947. My father born in 1943 was one of only 100 children in his road and the only one in his family of 13 who went to secondary school until 18 and studied everything through Irish, as Gaeilge the Irish language. French, Math, Latin, taught through Irish. Ireland has only become modern in the last 40 year's.
ciaran Same year as me in Salisbury with grandparents from Cork. Pity they were on wrong side in the war.....supposed neutrals ...Always a point of friction in our family.
@@ciaran6309 My dad,born 1887 went to the small village school ,left at 14 with a basic country school education,forward 60 years his grandson attending a good secondary school was set a basic,very involved arithmetic question, the answer was available in the back of the maths book, but neither the lad himself or any of his teachers could work out the answer, it was decided by all that the answer couldn't be worked out, it was brought to my dads attention,who looking amazed at their failures, worked out the answer in 5 minutes flat. Not bad for a rural junior school education of the 19 th century, hr even had a smattering of basic algebra,very basic, but he still remembered it in his 80s also parsing and analysis in Englush, the teachers were tough,but unlike today every pupil left with the basic three Rs
What people seem to forget is that it was pretty much the same for people all over the world. Ireland was not very different at that time.
The poverty in Ireland was awful because of England. So yes it was worse than most other places
@@Temptation666 poverty in all the places those paleskins illegally colonized was still worse.
@@Temptation666 not true
@@tommercury3349 stop reading the daily mail
@@johncumiskey672 I don't read it, have no probs with you reading it. Don't believe All in it. Ireland was a rich place
I am not from Ireland. but as you see all of these precious fantastic films of our forefathers,no matter where you or I are from'' ahh man wonderful precious human beings you see poverty,but you don't see the rich powerful scoundrels that had pleasure making people live poor , beggars,our very own sons and daughters of yesteryear being used,abused starved rejected its so sad,,not all rich are bad and cruel''but when you see these films'' its heartbreaking' god bless' love and peace to everyone'' please help your neighbour
Well said Terence.
7:59 ..."Since the inception of the Irish Free State the tide of migration seems to have been curtailed, and this may be an indication that a certain pride in home government is arousing the interest of the young Irishmen, and prompting him to remain in his own country--and well he might, for Ireland is one of the most interesting, healthful, and picturesque countries in the world"...
OHH, they left before by the millions because they WEREN"T proud to be Irish. Thank you for clearing that up.
May their dear souls rest in peace. 💕☘️
Amazing footage!
They arent been mocked, the guy is really trying to sell the place,
Americans have always been kind to ireland.
''Americans have also been kind to Ireland'' Someone has never heard of the know nothing movement.
They should be , most if them came from here
John McCassidy British were worse to the Irish that was terse Americans do to everyone Irish past it after the American Civil War.
@Swamp Ophelia And what about planned parenthood in america, harvesting baby organs for profit.
Liberals.
@Swamp Ophelia in many other countries babies were just left outside to die.
Everybody looks so happy !
I enjoyed this but it would be even greater in color. I can just imagine all that green grass. Beautiful countryside.
NO WORDS..... JUST BEAUTIFUL
My sister's name is Erin too. I already know that the meaning of Erin is Ireland.
I know that Irish people are very loyal , hardworking and peaceful people.
In this video , from my eyes I can't see any poverty if the people are smiling . They are mystically prosperous in the kingdom of God . 🙏
The name Erin comes from the goddess Éiriú, a pre-Christian goddess.
Éireann
Oh my woman in the past were very strong, all done manually. The heavy man was a hard worker despite his heavy weight. Looks like no hunger in that area with full of cattle raised.
This was great. Thanks for posting
Great too see. My Grandmother and Grandfather both born in Monaghan 1910 .
It always amazes me the amount of donkeys that were used for transport back then.
A generous Irish farmer thats a good one, I never meet one
@Larry O'Connor I get out a lot, more than the mean farmer's
God bless Ireland
This blarney at its best lol hyped up for the yanks with Irish anchestrey
So many people (including myself) look back on the "old days" through rose-tinted glasses.Ienjoyed the video though.
Picturesque it may be. But there's nothing romantic about that way of life.
anfin you couldnt live a day without your phone stop talking crap
gael i replied to the reply i addressed it to anfin
I guarantee you that way of life is by far happier than the current bullshit of 2 parents working with kids in creche from 7am.
Id choose a life a hard work than this current globalist bullshit we've been dealt.
_egas calybird well said ,,, there’s very little about modern life that’s really “ nice “ yes we’ve got so much more that yrs ago but at what cost !
_egas calybird dear egas in Mayo and Sligo I've sat with elderly that still feed the cows and live rural farming lives. There days begin early with work and happily chat with anyone. They are happy. The south is very social. Still visit with neighbors. They are a much hardier stock. The young would never find contentment but, many old do. Ps I have all the almanacs from 1929-1995 listing the Galway fairs. Another past time is reading. :) . Amazing how they never tire.
Lovely footage - plenty to learn even to day!
Many more of the Irish went to england...not too far from home. In a way, they never left. My folks didn't and I go back 8 generations and still counting.
So nice to have some agreement! All the best to you and to all our relations.
My wife and I are planning a trip to Ireland with our children.
I would love to live in the Irish countryside.
My Dad was born in 1923 and sadly passed away this March at the age of 91 so he would have been 11 in 1934. I find it hard to imagine he lived such a long life and seen so many big changes.
Typically this American paints a falsely idyllic and romantic idea of Ireland back then. From stories my Dad told me life in Ireland was quite brutal and I imagine quite stiffing. In his early life he had to work for farmers and had a life long hatred and resentment towards them and told me that sometimes they would not pay him anything after doing work for them. There were so many things I would have loved to ask him about life back then but I think he preferred not to think about it too much as he would change the subject after only a brief discussion if I brought it up.
+Mark Murphy My dad was from Cork and was born in 1926, he told me that Angela's Ashes was an accurate depiction of Ireland and if anything it was not painted as harshly as it really was. He always referred to Ireland as home though, even though he moved to London to join the RAF during the war and stayed for the rest of his life. He never lost his accent, neither did my mum who was also from Cork. They loved the tenors too.
great
Mark- read "Angela's Ashes" - it was a great book made into a movie- a good depiction of what your dad went through !
Stephen Flaherty my own mum was born in the same year .So my Grandfather would have been living in Armagh at that time. God Bless him I never got to meet him.I could watch this over and over again
Best thing about your dad's good old days was that they were good & gone it seems!
plenty of those stone walls still standing
That Ireland does not exist anymore.
Nor it never will.
Only in some ppl's memory's.
No such word as ppl,may have been used in the frankfurt school.
i wish it did and i'm almost 30 just seems better hard work, patriotism and faith in god and our lady beautiful
Even the donkeys cant believe their eyes when they see him 😂
I like Iris people i love their spirit 🙏🤘
How very sentimental and fascinating, thank you!
I would love to own one of those old Tatched Cottages.
so would these people. it was owned by the British and they evicted everyone to clear the land for tractor farming
Galway is not a little town, as the narrator said. It's the fourth largest city in the Republic of Ireland.
It's also not in the south, as the narrator said. it's approximately equidistant (north/south) on the west coast.
Wonderful footage the year my dear much missed mother was born in Athlone
I love rural Ireland. Especially mayo
My maternal ancestors came to the United States from Ireland in 1750.
How fitting this film is now as it was shot at the beginning of the Great Depression and the announcer makes a point of how an agriculture based society will survive thru an industrial downturn. It appears that history is about to repeat itself. Unfortunately the vast majority are no longer living that agrarian economy he spoke of and it looks like Ireland has suffered greatly because of it.
Year 2020: You have seen NOTHING 11 years ago. Hahhhaaaahhhaaa 😈
Yeah, subsistence farming is just fantastic!
But anyway I think aside from the newsreel drival I think this was enjoyable thank you.
My Grandparents were from cork..l have been there a few times...never met people like them.
"Honey combed with stone walls"..Famine walls.."Ireland has little timberland"..Ireland was a heavily forested land,until they were decimated by the British for building more ships for their Royal navy.
@Fiach McHugh Ó Bruadair I'm sharing information..nothing more,nothing less.
Which freed up more land for cultivation.
@Fiach McHugh Ó Bruadair I appreciate the history, Gó raibh maith agut,Slán.☘
It's interesting reading all the comments saying their parents/grandparents growing up in Ireland in the 1930s had no food, shoes, drank out of jam jars etc. My own granny was born in Mayo in 1930s and reading these comments makes me think she must have been very privileged. I never thought to ask her whether her circumstances were very different to others but in pictures her family seem to always have the latest fashion clothes and they certainly never went hungry. She lived in a small town but her father was a pharmacist, so I guess they were middle class. It's sad that some people were barefoot and starving but not everyone was.
It's safe to say most Irish were not living a middle class life in the 1930s. A worldwide depression was raging. It's good your granny escaped some of it.🇮🇪✌🏼💚🇮🇪
@@blueneptune825 the majority were living in a republic
Mayo, was a prosperous county, like a lot of Connaught never conquered
@@tommercury3349 Are you a bot? You are destroying the genuine comments. Mayo was a poor county. Read the famine records. It is in Connaught. Cromwell's command to those he dispossessed from everywhere else was, 'To hell or to Connaught'.
@@Mary-wo5ln Cromwell never had control of Connaught, did he pass 1ot 2 days in Connaught, it was presented as very poor by the crown force's, this deterred people from moving there for safety. They were encouraged to emigrate, however many gaels did move to Connaught, lived good life's, also fought hard to defend the natives, and run the invaders. That is the true history.
Good video
The smile on the fella at the Galway fair is pure beautiful. How many people today smile with such direct unself-conscious expression? The debate here seems to be between the 'Goodness of Old Times vs the Betterness of th lives we live now. I agree with both because both are true. The question is can modern, global, educated people retain the humanity and richness of the simple life and times that focussed on the person and not the things to acquire? It was terrible bad back then in many ways and there's no sugar-coating it. But can't you defenders of 'modernisation' not see what is happening now? Ireland has bought the consumerist-is-superior mentality and has sold itself down the river for the 'better life'. Can't say I blame you, but please don't wear the current Neo-liberal blinders put on you by the new "English Invaders", i.e., the corporate monetary control of your world. Can't we keep the good of both kinds of lives by creating a unique solution?
marynadononeil you are perfectly right, we could do with a multitude of this kind of thinking, but alass you will not ever get this kind of thinking from the political class. There are lots of lobby groups, lobbying the government on different issues, but they will get nowhere, until they take it upon themselves to change the culture towards the Irish persons way of living. Why not set up co-ops to sell Irish products, made by the people of Ireland, firstly at home and later further afield, at prices people can afford, bring back our fisheries, plant more vegetation. We need to become more self sufficient again.
The fat fellow with the donkey would be better off doing a u turn from the camera, and we are informed the he had fathered a normal child. Cringe. Did Pat Mustard deliver milk there?
Think we will be back on the donkey and cart soon.
The past seems attractive because it appears to be stable and unchanging, conversely the future is uncertain and this leads to fear and sentimentality. This film competely overlooks the abject poverty, religious and state oppression of 1930s Ireland.
Actually the man speaking and the script is not from today but decades ago. Just wrong IMNSHO.
There was no religious or state oppression. You could choose your religion. They were hard times economically. One had to be frugal, no fancies or luxuries. Atheists love to engage in bigotry. I was born early 50s.
This makes me long to be in that time and place. I can't imagine how hard it would have been to get by, but I like to think in the end, it would have been better than things are today. I don't belong in this modern world.
You wouldn't last 5 minutes
So many of us Irish round the world. Erin go Bragh
@@mmidlands5542 If you do a DNA test you might be surprised, the average Irish person has a big mixture of foreign DNA, I thought my family never travelled more than 10 miles outside Dublin, no Christopher Columbus's amongst us. So was agreeably surprised that I had a big percentage of Scandinavian, Norse, Viking , and even Indian blood in me veins Yes I'm a mongrel,and didnt know it. Our family boat must have developed a hole about 200 years ago as we seem to have all settled in Ireland ever since,but now I know where I got my itchy feet from
@laurielovett8849 of course. We had many different cultures travel to Ireland over the centuries including Norman's, vikings etc. People move all around the world as it shud be
My Mam was born in the late 20s love it.
1934 , when the true cause of grinding poverty began to dawn on the Irish people.
Not from the foreign oppressor but from within.
MrDerbee how so?
Mr Derbee , that is insightful but I think it was in the '50's when the penny really started to Drop
MrDerbee disunity throughout history = defeat
it all looks very nice.
what a wonderful film shame there isn't more TFS
Lee Readman TFS?
Great clip! Pride is a poor choice of words.
Actually the Irish have a long history of wearing mantles, not surprising it was still in use in the west up until relatively recently.
A very environmentally sustainable way to live - no waste - no noxious chemicals.
No labor saving devices, no hot water, no indoor toilets, no shoes, no birth control, not much food. A life style you can live any time you choose.
@@BoopShooBee They did have houses and land to grow food, donkeys and carts (as labour saving devices) and labour was shared when there were larger families. Water could be heated over the fire. They had chamber pots and the great outdoors for their toilets, and eventually, shoes.
My Nana also was raised in ireland tipperary sadly her parents passed away. my Nana and her siblings were raised by the mercy sisters ophage convenient. I guess that is why she no longer believed in God as what she went through is beyond words
E cosa c'entra Dio???
Gli esseri umani possono essere molto buoni,ma anche ingiusti e cattivi si sa,
Ma la Fede,quella vera non dev'essere scalfita dal comportamento umano.
Thank-you!
Propaganda that would embarrass Nazi Germany or Soviet Russia. The "older Irish women" are likely in their 50s. The lovely young peasant girl lugging hay on her back will wind up old before her time and with a curved spine. While all of this blarney was being filmed, the Catholic Church was encouraging the formation of the Blue Short Fascist movement and repressing Irish art and literature. For a truer portrait of this era, read Sebastian Barry's "Secret Scripture."
My great grandma left for USA from Ireland in 1931
This video makes living there in those days somehow idyllic with everyone happy and smiling. I know that to be total nonsense.
The first "Mom" in the video has Very thread worn clothes, donkeys, not horses, & no electricity. I do not think the film was meant to glamour, but to enchant with the beautiful ppl & scenery.💚
Despite poverty, people had contentment. They did not spend their time moaning or complaining. The ass and cart was common transport. Brought home the hay and turf on the farm and groceries from the town, some heavy, such as meal for cattle or big bags of flour. This is their life, poor but happy. That's why they look happy.
Life was hard all over the world during that time. The dust bowl and the depression in the states. There’s poverty everywhere