Anti-Irish Racism in 1930s Britain

Irish History Podcast

Fin Dwyer

Great Hunger, Great Famine, Norman Invasion, War Of Independence, Vikings, Irish History, History, Interviews, Ireland

4.7 • 1.8K Ratings

🗓️ 11 October 2023

⏱️ 33 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In the 1920s and 30s Irish emigrants in Britain faced widespread racism and discrimination. Labelled drunks, subversives, and a threat to society, right wing politicians whipped up fear and hatred against the community.This podcast tells the forgotten stories of these emigrants.

The episode begins with humorous story of Martin King whose drunken escapades after downing half a bottle of whiskey revealed the racism at the heart of British society.

The show goes on to look at what was often the grave consequences of this bigotry. In Liverpool the racist Irish Immigration Investigation Bureau campaigned against the Irish in the city. Meanwhile the deadly 1937 Kirkintilloch fire in Scotland illustrated the dangerous conditions in which seasonal workers lived.

Written, narrated and produced by Fin Dwyer

Additional Narrations Aidan Crowe

Sound Kate Dunlea.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, I'm Rick Kassali, co-founder of CarbonCopy.
0:04.0	Four years ago, I wrote a book about the clash between our culture and well-being and the
0:08.8	power of community to resolve this conflict.
0:12.0	In this new three-power audio book, I'm telling an updated short story about mending the
0:17.2	links between people and places, facing up to climate breakdown and finding hope through
0:23.0	collective action.
0:24.0	Listen now to the CarbonCopy podcast, Civic Revolution.
0:54.0	Own Boss.
0:55.0	New Boss Bottle Delixir, now available at Boots.
1:24.0	An Irish immigrant in England drinking half a bottle of whiskey before deciding it
1:28.7	would be a good idea to venture out on his bicycle.
1:32.0	Blind drunk, he viewed wildly from one side of the road to the other before somewhat predictably
1:38.7	falling flat on his face on the hair-field road in the town.
1:42.5	Now his timing here was impeccable.
1:45.4	The police had already received complaints about his behaviour and the local constable Eric
1:50.4	Hayfield had arrived on the scene in time to watch the 26-year-old Irishman attempting
1:56.4	to climb back up on his bicycle.
1:59.4	Constable Hayfield however didn't waste to see where this would lead and moved to a
2:03.6	rest-king.
2:04.6	However, with his confidence bolstered by half a bottle of whiskey, Martin King became
2:09.9	belligerent and resisted the arrest, a tussle ensued, and he told the policeman,
2:15.8	as strangled you, you bastard.
	...

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