Hobart St

John Morton with his Uncle Sean, Eamon's brother, on Confirmation Day.  4 Hobart St, 1965.

Eamon Morton came from Lisnarkea, Co. Fermanagh, N. Ireland. He had come over first to Leicester, then to Northampton and back to Leicester in 1955 where he met Patricia Bradley at a St Peters dance. He was living at 14 Gotham St.

Patricia Morton (nee Bradley) came from Co. Derry, N. Ireland. She came to Leicester with her friend, Peggy Brady in May 1956. Her brother was already here at 12 Tichbourne St where he had a flat and he got the girls a room there too. They got work straight away at Imperial typewriters but Patricia remembers missing home and her family. 

Tichbourne St

Patricia and Eamon  got married at Holy Cross Church in 1958 and Patricia moved into Gotham street for a few months until they bough their first house at 4 Hobart St. It was a big house with a cellar and an attic and cost them under £2000.

Patricia carried on working at Imperial Typewriters until the birth of their first child. They had 4 children altogether, two boys and two girls.

Eamon worked for John Laing, often doing 100 hrs per week on the new M1. 

Hobart St today.

Thanks to Colin Hyde for the modern day photos: East Midlands Oral History Archive

If you'd like to be involved contact us on 0116 276 9186 or pop in to:
The Emerald Centre, Gipsy Lane, Leicester. LE5 OTB
We're now also on Twitter: follow me on  @irishleicester

Click here to view a map of The Irish in Leicester.

A busy week...

This week:

• I met with Pete Kinsey, an Leicester man who embraced the Irish showband culture in the 70s and has followed it ever since. Do the names New Blues, The Cotton Mill Boys and The Nevada ring any bells? Pete has fond memories of showbands and of St. Patrick's Club, Abbey St.and the good friends who worked there.
• I started to write up a story from Royal East St and St Patrick's school.
• I visited the Corby Heritage Centre to film " Migrant Stories"  with Colin Hyde, for the Midlands Oral History Project. We spent Friday listening to the wonderful stories of new comers to Corby: this time from Scotland, Walsall and London, all with similar tales of needing to move for work, the loss of leaving family behind and the struggle to make a new life for themselves. This was part of my own training in film and sound and I hope to be making movie stars of my own dear, dear Irish ladies and gentelmen soon.
• And finally this week we were in the Leicester Mercury. The new Mr. Leicester, Austin Ruddy, was kind enough to make us the lead feature on Friday night. He is of Irish stock himself so I'm hoping to be telling his story  here too one day soon. 

More details of all this in the week to come.

If you'd like to be involved contact us on 0116 276 9186 or pop in to:
The Emerald Centre, Gipsy Lane, Leicester. LE5 OTB
We're now also on Twitter: follow me on  @irishleicester

Click here to view a map of The Irish in Leicester.

English Accent, Irish Soul.

 I travelled over to Birmingham this afternoon to see English Accent, Irish Soul courtesy of Irish in Birmingham.

Birmingham is a City shaped by the diversity of its citizens, Irish foremost amongst them. ‘English Accent, Irish Soul’ takes us through the lived culture of the children of Irish immigrants. Covering 1960-2010 this exhibition shows how Irish culture has played a central part in the experience of a huge swathe of Brummie children.

The title of the exhibition caught my eye a few days ago when I saw it pop up on Facebook. Isn't that me? Isn't that some of you? The English kids of Irish parents sharing our memories of how we married the two worlds?

If you were brought up in the 60s and 70s, walking into the exhibition space at The Custard Factory today was like walking into your own living room. I didn't know any of the faces in any of the photos but they all could have been in my own family album. I listened to Brummies talking about Holy Communion, dancing, the club ( pop and crisps) and the Birmingham pub bombings knowing that I have heard those exact same conversations many times before. There was an overwhelming feeling of familiarity and cultural identity with a few quiet tears thrown in.

The project Co-ordinator, Michelle Aucott, was very helpful and kindly let me take these snaps.
It is on till April 28: do not hesitate to go.

If you'd like to be involved contact us on 0116 276 9186 or pop in to:
The Emerald Centre, Gipsy Lane, Leicester. LE5 OTB

Click here to view a map of The Irish in Leicester.

Brookhouse St

Looking towards Brookhouse St

Noreen Jones (nee O’Neill) came over in 1947 looking for work. She shared a flat on Saxby St. with a friend, Kathleen who she had met at work: they had one bedroom between them and shared a kitchen and bathroom with the family who lived there. They later moved to 19 Upper Tichbourne St. where they had more room with 2 rooms and a kitchen. When Kathleen married and moved out Noreen moved out to a ground floor flat on Brookhouse St.

She met Roy Jones, a Leicester man and married on Feb 3 1951 at Holy Cross Church. Roy had been baptised at the church the year before.

The former Cherub Building, Charles St. now the Foister Building appartments.

Noreen worked wherever she could and remembers that there was plenty of it. She worked at Cherub’s in Charles St, Moody’s  in Granby St, Puck boutique and finally worked at the County Council where she stayed until she retired.

Thanks to Colin Hyde for the photos: East Midlands Oral History Archive

If you'd like to be involved contact us on 0116 276 9186 or pop in to:
The Emerald Centre, Gipsy Lane, Leicester. LE5 OTB

Click here to view a map of The Irish in Leicester.
 

What did you take with you when you left Ireland?

The Limerick School of Art and Design is embarking on a venture to find out what items Irish people have taken with them as emigrants from 1850 onward. What did you take with you when you left Ireland?

The college is looking for people’s help as they examine the material goods Irish people have considered important enough to take with them on their journeys all over the globe.

I don't remember conversations about specific things being brought over but these two objects were always there and  I feel sure they weren't bought over here in England...

JFK and Jackie

 This plate was in The China Cabinet, the place where all untouchable things were kept: little nick nacky type things alongside lovely cups and saucers that were never used and we were never allowed to take out. My family never discussed politics so when I was little I never who these two pretty people on the plate were or what they meant to my parents. For all I knew they were relatives back home!

Our Lady

This statue holds a really powerful place in my memory. It stood on top of the wardrobe in my parent's bedroom. The only time me and my sister were allowed to get into our parent's bed was if we were sick and off school - a very rare treat! Snuggled into the "big bed" with a bottle of Lucozade I'd luxuriate in the space, the bolster pillows and the heavy, heavy blankets. But you couldn't indulge too much as Our Lady was always looking down on you: was that belly ache really enough to keep you off school? Should you really be looking at things in your mother's handbag beside the bed?

The best of it is, this statue of Our Lady is flourescent. In the early winter mornings, or as it got dark in the evenings, she would appear to float, as the wardrobe diappeared into the shadows, and she glowed out of the dark. She used to scare me to death.

If you'd like to be involved contact us on 0116 276 9186 or pop in to:
The Emerald Centre, Gipsy Lane, Leicester. LE5 OTB

Click here to view a map of The Irish in Leicester.

Terraced Houses of Leicester

Frederick St

Whilst searching for a photo of an address I've been given I came across this website today:
Terraced Houses of Leicester. It's a celebration of the small pre-WW1 terraced housing that could be found in Leicester and in which many of us later lived.

College Avenue

This site, created by Colin Hyde at Leicester University as part of the East Midlands Oral History Archive, focuses mainly on the outsides of the houses and the look of the windows, roofs and doors. There are photos of some streets already mentioned in this blog eg Hartington St, Mere Rd but also others such as Frederick Rd, College Avenue and a pub called the George and Dragon.
How cool would it be if you found your old house here!  Let me know if you do and if you have any similar pictures that you might want to share.

Click here for more pictures from Terraced Houses of Leicester.


If you'd like to be involved contact us on 0116 276 9186 or pop in to:
The Emerald Centre, Gipsy Lane, Leicester. LE5 OTB

Click here to view a map of The Irish in Leicester.

What does wearing the Claddagh mean to you?

In its original version, the Claddagh ring has a heart held by two hands. A crown is shown on the top of the heart. The first Claddagh ring was made as a show of love between two hearts that were oceans apart. The heart denotes love, the hands show friendship and togetherness. Finally, the crown signifies loyalty.

If your Claddagh ring is worn on the right hand with the heart facing your finger nail (outwards) it shows that your heart is open or available But, wearing your Claddagh on your right hand with the heart facing your wrist (inwards), is a sign of friendship prior to the wedding. It thus shows that your heart is taken. How you wear your Claddagh ring on your right hand can send different messages about your relationship status.

I wear mine on my left hand, middle finger because that’s where it fits best. I wear it with the heart facing me as I want to be able to look at my ring and enjoy it.

For me the Claddagh is a link to others: first of all to my grandmother back in Dublin.

I can’t remember my first one but I do remember that as children my sister, Sandra, and I would receive small silver Claddgahs through the post from my grandmother. Sandra remembers them coming with the boxes of shamrock for St. Patrick’s day. There’s no way we would have had a new one each year but we both remember always having one to wear, even if it meant moving them on to smaller fingers till the new one came!

Those early Claddaghs were silver and getting a gold one was a step towards adulthood. Sandra bought her first gold one out of her 21st birthday money. A partner bought mine for me and I gave them my silver one to wear. My niece wears my Mum’s.

Although I knew something of the rules about how to wear the Claddagh, for me it always simply meant that I belonged. It was something special amongst us all that the English kids and their parents didn’t understand. Like a secret handshake (without the sinister connotations) spotting a Claddagh on someone’s hand told you something about them without ever having to say a word. I always especially loved the fact that men wore them too: somehow it went way beyond jewellery and is still a powerful symbol of belonging for us all.

What does wearing the Claddagh mean to you?

For more pictures of Claddagh rings click here. Please upload your own or send yours into me and I’ll put them into our ever growing photo collection!

If you'd like to be involved contact us on 0116 276 9186 or pop in to:
The Emerald Centre, Gipsy Lane, Leicester. LE5 OTB

Click here to view a map of The Irish in Leicester.

74 Dronfield St.

 Kathleen, Brian (a friend Brenda Cree ) and Judith Flynn on the step of 74 Dronfield St. 1952.

Judith Hubbard’s father, Timothy Flynn from Roscommon, first came over to Birmingham where he worked on the railway.

Mary Cunningham, from Port Laois, had come to Birmingham too: Mary’s dad had died and there were possibly too many mouths to feed with no money coming in to the house-so she came to England.

Timothy and Mary married in 1939 and moved over to Kettering where their daughter, Judith, was born in 1941. They moved to Leicester in 1942 and found a terraced house, 74 Dronfield St , through someone Timothy worked with. 

During the war Timothy signed up with the British Army and was based at Catterick but Mary and Judith stayed in Leicester. Three more children, Timothy, Kathleen and Brian were born in Dronfield St. after the war and Mr and Mrs Flynn lived there all their lives.

The children went to Sacred Heart and Judith remembers the Headmistress, Sister LLoyola, Miss Veal and Miss Burkett. She also remembers Father Murdoch, Father Henry and Sister Gemma.

Judith later went to Moat, Brian to City of Leicester and Kathleen, Corpus Christi.

Mary worked at John Bull, Evington Valley Rd.

Judith remembers many, many shops around where she lived:

Norton’s  a haberdashery shop on the corner of Eggington and Dronfield St. and an off licence on the opposite corner called Ward’s.

Mrs. Deacon’s was a general grocer’s store at the 3^rd corner of the crossroad where they would cut the butter to size and weigh out the sugar.

The Finnegan’s had The Dew Drop Inn, Laxton St.

Winterbottom’s Grocery Shop was at the top of Dronfield St. on a corner with Mere Rd.

Houghan’s Greengrocer’s, an electrical shop called Buttons and a newsagent were also part of the strip of shops at the top of Dronfield St.

There was a sweet shop in middle of the street, Frank’s. When sweets were rationed she remembered him slicing up a Mars bar to share between the family. This shop keeper donated ice lollies for the Coronation Day celebrations on the street.

Judith remembers:

Kathleen and Maureen Larkin,

Pauline Everett,

Brother and sister, Marie and Tommy Kebill,

Nora Lee, who lived opposite Sacred Heart and Nora O’Gorman, who lived next door to her.

Who and where do you remember?

If you'd like to be involved contact us on 0116 276 9186 or pop in to:
The Emerald Centre, Gipsy Lane, Leicester. LE5 OTB

Click here to view a map of The Irish in Leicester.