We hear so much about what the Windrush generation did for the good of Britain, but never anything about the Irish, and they literally built most of post-war Britain with their bare hands.
@sonnyirish36787 ай бұрын
Thats because we do not need to be patronised.
@wolfblitzer19817 ай бұрын
They also bombed a good bit of it as well
@Johndollary7 ай бұрын
@@wolfblitzer1981langer in the comments
@kabes92887 ай бұрын
It's because of this windrush we've a country full of black and half breed road men stabbing each other, and hundreds of thousands of single mothers sponging off the state
@StarBoyyX7 ай бұрын
Bbc love disinformation and actively are anti white
@junedanaher38612 ай бұрын
My brother Eamonn worked the tunnels in London. Leaft Ireland at 19yrs, I remember the day do well. Eamonn died in Critlewood at 57. Rest In Peace dear brother. Watching this has made me realise how hard it must have been for him. 🙏
@darrinmcneill5348 күн бұрын
Bless him ❤
@29brendus5 ай бұрын
My God, this brings back memories. I did this work in London in the 70s, hard grafting in tunnels, 6 by 12 hour shifts a week. Although I didn't think so at the time, they were great days, great workmates, but Irish Foremen were the worst when given a little bit of power. I'm an engineer now at the other end of the work, the design and planning, but I always respect the men who graft on the job, because I've been there!
@type1krush2058 ай бұрын
My Father a Limerick man was in the sheild on the Blackwell Tunnel as a leading miner in 1967 and he drove numerous headings all over the UK but his health deteriorated in his mid 50s between hard work and hard living ........a common theme for the Irish as they were poorly advised back then and exploited by there own ? What i can tell you is if the Irish were currently working on the HS2 it would be finished on time or ahead of schedule thats for sure and they'd have time for a few pints along the way also 😂😂 Im 50 now and i cut my teeth with my Connemara uncles back in the 80s myself and they made a man out of me thats for sure 💯 THE IRISH MEN & WOMEN WERE THE GREATEST WORKERS TO EVER GRACE THESE SHORES AND THEY'LL NEVER BE THE LIKES OF THEM AGAIN !!!!! RIP DAD BRILLIANT UPLOAD BTW 👏
@khiggins87332 жыл бұрын
9:50 The Irish Subbie, The Big Merc , The Big Man , The Big Ego , The Big Mouth. Lovely lads to work for. These guys had absolute contempt for their own. Treated Irish lads worse than the English ever did. A smug bastard.
@irishboer7124 Жыл бұрын
A McNicholas company man, not a subbie.
@joekavanagh89978 ай бұрын
You are right about the Irish sub contractors in London .They used to treat their workers with contempt.I know because I used to work in pubs in Kilburn over forty years ago before I went to Canada and then America. I used to listen to their conversations and they came across as arrogant without the education to back it up.They thought they were in " the winner's enclosure " with a bit of extra money in their pocket !! And the "guvners" of pubs were generally in the same category.There were noteworthy exceptions,Bill Collins in the Earl Derby on Kilburn High Road was a gentleman and I have good memories of working with him there. It's a different ball game here in America and the Irish are much more in tune with each other,be they the boss or the workers. The English have their good points and bad ,just like we do but you are absolutely correct that they would treat their workers better than "our own " would in similar circumstances. I am reminded ,when I think of the subbies,of the old saying ,"Put a beggar on horseback and he'll ride you to hell ". All the best !!
@martinlong28047 ай бұрын
Never work for a paddy.
@anthonyfitzgerald96737 ай бұрын
Men killers the shit bastards wont be remembered or forgotten
@deanodog36677 ай бұрын
The irish are a fair race , they haven't a good word to say about anyone !!
@72mossy Жыл бұрын
My father is a Tipperary man. He was in the Irish Army for 3 years, gave 6 months in Congo in 61 as a UN peacekeeper, dug trenches in the Congo. When he came back there, he finished his time in the Congo. He had previously been in England as a 15 year old in mid 50s working for Loyds foundry in Burton on trent. He went home again. After the army he gave from 61 to 69 working in Cricklewood, Kilburn, Hendon. All kinds of jobs, worked driver a dumper for a year, he said that was a handy job, got a job on a high rise painting girders, no fall arrest equipment, saw a couple of lads falling, worked under the roads digging trenches for pipes and cables. When he came home he was driving tombstones all over Ireland in a truck and worked in the Silvermines in Nenagh Tipperary as a miner up to 1980. The man worked hard all his life, still tippin away at nearly 83.
@keithrobertson51107 ай бұрын
God bless the man, what a grafter wouldn't be surprised if his ancestors worked on the titanic, I worked in England in the eighties comming from Scotland, the only lads I got on with were my own jocks and the Irish.
@joekavanagh89977 ай бұрын
He's not a worker ,he's a warrior.Tell him I said so!
@BurnedOutGarage7 ай бұрын
My father is also from Tipperary, Fethard. He was in the congo in 1961 as well!
@davidwatt45117 ай бұрын
my dad worked as a roofer until he was 73 and believe that a rare old age as a roofer.his dad my grandfather was a roofer into his 60s.hard men used to hard ways. i was the weakling of the family as i was a roofer until i retired at 50 but 31 years of that was running my own company grafting 7 days a week and 12 hour days.none of my 3 sons went into the roofing game and im glad coz my body is fu#ked with it.the moneys good but the work is hard and too hot in summer n too cold,wet and windy in the winter.
@peterfitzgerald53 Жыл бұрын
Father and his six brothers came over from Sligo, from the late fifties onwards ,not anywhere is their a statue erected to the toil of the 1 million migrant workers that rebuilt London's infrastructure ,from the ground up from the post war period .They were used and forgotten .
@ds964210 ай бұрын
Your father and his brothers were real men.god bless them. You are a whinging fanny though.
@LeeMcDaidDonegal3 ай бұрын
I remember actually watching this in London when it came out as I was living and working in south east London in 1991 ... went back a few times over the years since, but London isn't the same anymore - it has changed and not for the better.
@keithpilkington33402 жыл бұрын
Respect to all the Irish there all grafters and them men were real men
@manofkentcatapultsgunsando50697 ай бұрын
I'm English but worked for loads of Irish firms , MC NICHOLAS , MURPHY , SULLIVANS , AND MC GINTY , great times
@lordred41167 ай бұрын
Worked for Murray telecom, late 80s early 90s. 90% were Irish. Seamus Laffey was one of the agents. He made that much recovering old lead cables, he walked into Road range, Mercedes dealers in Liverpool, with a tesco bag full of money. Drove out in a brand new car, straight onto the ferry back to Dublin.
@29brendus5 ай бұрын
So he got the lead out then?
@warriorb67337 ай бұрын
Old school was the best school☘️👏🏻
@gaughantony2 ай бұрын
Grew up in Cricklewood and my father and brothers worked for green McNicolas. My father worked from Pat McN, Kevin McN father . Lots of Mayo men working for m McNicolas
@bluegtturbo8 ай бұрын
It's all so different now... The Irish lads will be the engineers and accountants
@mikewatt87068 ай бұрын
Very true. All eastern European. The irish are educated now
@Oddly19707 ай бұрын
@@mikewatt8706Took long enough
@ctplastering45362 жыл бұрын
Hard working men Ireland could to with these men today were going to be a dieing breed a man who can push hard and get the work done
@Eggspuddingbeans7 ай бұрын
Very interesting documentary. Made by Molly Dineen The Pick, the Shovel and the Open Road (Channel 4, 1990) - A 60-minute film about the Irish roadwork company McNicholas.
@Ste20237 ай бұрын
Very interesting. wonder what they are doing ...
@angelacarton75153 жыл бұрын
My dad done this 1954 had 6 kids in England God bless is beloved Ireland x
@melsagelord39917 ай бұрын
Dad had fond memories of working with Irish lads on the gas board, digging in the late 60’s/early 70’s. Allowed him to sleep off his stag night hangover in the back of the van infact. An interesting documentary. Thanks.
@Starstarstarvenusvenusve-bi1sg8 ай бұрын
My grandfather was from Tipperary and his wife had 4 set of twins to look after Plus others ♥️♥️♥️♥️💯
@29brendus5 ай бұрын
He musta' been dippin' twice? Ha!
@johnclancy91884 жыл бұрын
Sad times indeed for the irish-all exploited by their own
@angelacarton75153 жыл бұрын
Loved this the hard lives my education my dad thought me life was so hard dod bless xxx
@user-bn7ws2gi2j7 ай бұрын
When men were real men and women were real women and you could call a spade a spade
@user-wq3qf7jg9i7 ай бұрын
I worked for mcnicholas in Newcastle England in the late 80s worked with tony O'Donnell, Eugene good bunch of lads .
@dannymcmince4 жыл бұрын
I worked in London in the 80s....most of the Irish sub contractors exploited their own
@dannymcmince4 жыл бұрын
@rue de bac For sure☘️
@patglennon96713 жыл бұрын
I got treated well
@dannymcmince3 жыл бұрын
@@patglennon9671 you are lucky
@dannymcmince3 жыл бұрын
@Knight Rhyder myth and truth bubba
@cathedralImages3 жыл бұрын
The worst kind was your own ..
@keltiquewood2 жыл бұрын
Stay in school kids!
@StarBoyyX7 ай бұрын
So much better then , now London and the Uk is a mess since 97
@Pajoe8277 ай бұрын
Great to see the men of Ireland from that time period . hard times Good times.
@davidcarr32193 жыл бұрын
Cricklewood was a great craic back in the 90s..
@michaelmouse813 жыл бұрын
even Greater in the 60's ........
@wakeywakeypeeps30863 жыл бұрын
The 90s were the best, look at London then and look at the same place now🤦♂️😥
@Ste20237 ай бұрын
Blacks with swords ⚔️ ... We're did all the white working class go
@tonykehoe1237 ай бұрын
I went to slough from Liverpool in 1981 as part of a government training initiative to complete a course in carpentry and joinery . Following on , I found myself in London and would often , usually from a night of drinking at biddy mulligans with some mates , would find myself the following day at The crown in Cricklewood accompanied by my toolbox and would be whisked off to a building site somewhere either in London or the home counties . I was 22 years of age .
@patrickgritton33143 жыл бұрын
I once saw , scrawled on a wall in a Glasgow pub , Down the line came McAlpine’s men , A horde of ballet dancers, One in nine served their time , The rest were f^ckin’ chancers .
@johndowney80073 жыл бұрын
Worked for them all in the nighties worked hard played hard
@martinomalley7480 Жыл бұрын
When did the hiring fair on crickelwood broadway end ?
@dominicmoss Жыл бұрын
Hard working hard drinking honest men, I grew up mixing with Irish labourers on building sites and was always humbled by their resilience and work ethic. I doubt anyone these days works as hard as they did. Regardless of the conditions they would work and work and work. I remember them wearing old suits and in one case one of them cooking his breakfast, a full mixed grill, on his shovel over a gas ring in the canteen. One guy, John Dorian, used to sign his initials in any concrete that was laid. I also remember in the early 1880’s driving through Cricklewood in the early hours of a Saturday or Sunday morning and seeing fights outside the Galtymore dance hall. There would be times where one of them disappeared for days and then reappeared in the most awful state after going a real bender.
@realtalk4329 Жыл бұрын
Hello time traveller 1880s ??
@lifesahobby2 ай бұрын
thanks for the work uploading this
@user-whu7 ай бұрын
I worked for ( brown ) mcnicholas civil engineering out of cathall road Leytonstone on the LEB contract 1993 , I only did 6 months it was proper graft digging, it made me appreciate any job after that, a lot of the boys on there were from athlone , massive respect to them all , they showed me what a proper days work was 🇮🇪
@dean51957 ай бұрын
I was in the falcon wood yard on brown mc in 92 most Saturdays with my dad I was only 7
@sineadpaulkelly9097 ай бұрын
Brilliant the irish built the place
@TARGET41033 жыл бұрын
Would love to know how all these lads are doing today.
@Gommerell2 жыл бұрын
Drunks or dead, or dying of drink.
@AB-dh5ip4 жыл бұрын
Thanks for uploading this video. My father came over from Co Kerry in the 50s and was into this type of work. The building recession of the 1980s finished most of these guys unfortunately.
@jamieshannon98094 жыл бұрын
I wished I'd gone on the tools in the 1980's instead of ending up doing office work.
@alanmangan4243 жыл бұрын
I don't know about unfortunately Irish in London biggest shower of gombeens Always out to do you Especially if you had a Dublin accent Young lads on sites from west exactly the same as their fathers uncles etc
@Gommerell2 жыл бұрын
@@alanmangan424 Well said.
@davidodonoghue1092 Жыл бұрын
That McQuaid lad seems like a right soulless prick 😢
@turbosnail15911 ай бұрын
Super film well made
@tomthumb35003 жыл бұрын
God love them.
@jimmccormack75078 ай бұрын
The Irish never give up
@user-lp3uu9ir4h7 ай бұрын
Whenever there was a recession the English would be out of work but the Irish always had work and it was easy to suss out just go to an Irish pub in Kilburn and Archway and watch how many cheques were being cashed through the whole in the wall
@jimmygorman490 Жыл бұрын
Who remembers Murphys man the elephant John,,some lad,,, aka , as the bowld o donoghue,,
@martintowey695 Жыл бұрын
I worked in kentishtown in 1988 I remember him from the canteen he always sat alone at breakfast time facing the door.there were some great lads in there Dougie the Jamaican sandblaster, Martin geoghan the sign man and patsy a steel fixer from cavan they used always watch to give us a spin in from Finsbury where we were living and stevie who ran the canteen and let us put the grub on the slate till payday he kept the life in us.
@Danny-lz1ek2 жыл бұрын
The best contractor with the best men was John Galvin They recruited men mainly from Kerry at Cricklewood lane what happened to Big Eddy, The Horse, Gambling Joe , Patsy to name a few
@raybans87127 ай бұрын
Patsy McIntyre?
@patrickglennon70587 ай бұрын
Patsy from walls contractors, Wembley based company
@raybans87127 ай бұрын
@@patrickglennon7058 ahhh I see I had a subbie uncle who was called patsy also. Fairly well known as well
@patrickglennon70587 ай бұрын
@raybans8712 this wall family was from co meath, I would go up the Broadway as a last resort, mainly plastering but laboring if nothing else, late eighties, then to netherland, Germany and the states, Chicago, I'm 58 and now chilling inbthailand, how all this happened I don't know, life is bizarre, great crack in kilburn/ cricklewood/ Neasden, I wishing could do it again.
@raybans87127 ай бұрын
@@patrickglennon7058 I loved for 35 years in Neasden by the ox and gate pub. I lived 2 years in Navan Meath as fate would have it. I’m 47 now and never did travel although I had an offer of a job (roofing) and a green card in Vancouver Canada building the Olympic village for the 2010 Winter Olympics.
@TheSpexxyboy7 ай бұрын
Pits closed 86 left school headed London every day Streatham Irish club "Frank McAvaeny" days work back to club £70! Brilliant my dad was on £250 week pals on £25 week YTS I between that constant night work for landlord "Ashin n Angik" yep London was paved in gold and yuppie cash! 🏴🙏🏴👊
@neverbeen24 жыл бұрын
the good old brace and bit :)
@garethhodson38967 ай бұрын
Love the Health and safety 😂
@seanboi8734 Жыл бұрын
I'm an ordinary man Christy Moore
@geoffreyhoran73963 жыл бұрын
🤣 health and safety
@ABCDEFGconversation11 ай бұрын
What's that
@GeoffMaxwell7 ай бұрын
24 mins the cavan man in action
@JohnCleary-vg7ci7 ай бұрын
Don't forget your shovel if you want to go to work The craic is good in cricklewood
@user-bk3gn7wl1e7 ай бұрын
Clipfine, Duffy and Carr🫣
@tictacmantips12 жыл бұрын
Is the rest uploaded?
@MattPearman-qr4sq7 ай бұрын
Imagine the health and safety then compared to now
@patrickwallace726 Жыл бұрын
Definitely 88to 92
@Ste20237 ай бұрын
Hair cuts
@donegaljoe7 жыл бұрын
Thanks again, very clear copy, appreciate the time and trouble you have taken to post. is this the whole programme as it seems to end suddenly, any plans to post the rest many thanks.
@forfrom7 жыл бұрын
I am trying but because there is a copyrighted film on the version I have it keeps getting taken down. I have a couple of full DVD copies left on my ebay shop if you wanted to get one, find me under dogchelsea_0
@beaghwanderer7 жыл бұрын
could i buy a copy ?
@forfrom6 жыл бұрын
Joseph Shovlin sorry not your fault but I had them on sale for three months for a poxy tenner which didn't even cover my costs and I had a few people watching it but not one would pay. So I've washed me hands of it. They've missed out big time too as now the company has been sold they will be collectors items!!!
@michaelmouse816 жыл бұрын
forfrom , do you know who bought the company, doe's anyone recall a civil engineering company ftom north watford R.S. Kennedy's ....
@forfrom6 жыл бұрын
Michael Mouse Skanska bought Mcnicholas Plc (Brown Macs) in 2006. Mcnicholas Construction (Green Macs) was bought in July 2017 by Kier Group.
@sicks6six7 ай бұрын
Well, we laid it in a hollows and we laid it in the flat And if it doesn't last forever, sure I swear, I'll eat me hat Well, I've wandered up and down the world and sure I never felt Any surface that was equal to the hot asphalt The other night a copper comes and he says to me, McGuire Would you kindly let me light me pipe down at your boiler fire? And he planks himself right down in front, with hobnails up, till late And says I, me decent man, you'd better go and find your bait He ups and yells, I'm down on you, I'm up to all yer pranks Don't I know you for a traitor from the Tipperary ranks? Boys, I hit straight from the shoulder and I gave him such a belt That I knocked him into the boiler full of hot asphalt
@user-bz5iw2by3c4 ай бұрын
Is the tunnel guy the same guy thats singing in the pub??
@user-fp7rc6sp5t4 ай бұрын
It was a hard, uncertain life. I hope things worked out ok for them.
@tommykeenan67267 ай бұрын
Does any1 no what year this was
@jamesdunne75377 ай бұрын
Anyone remember the yellow vans Tom Costello I think
@jamesbradshaw33893 ай бұрын
Hard times and good times, good when you got a job and get paid properly. You would not believe how things changed, those hardworking Irish men do not exist in London town anymore
@shaunmullen86342 ай бұрын
The Irish built post-war Britain. They also built the USA, Canada and Australia.
@tommynocash24194 ай бұрын
When were this documentary made ? Late 80s? Early 90s?
@user-bk3gn7wl1e7 ай бұрын
Watch out for the Cavan man. Notorious rats
@Sean-ce1hu2 жыл бұрын
Did anybody work for TA Ronan and Sons? Cable layers in Shepherds Bush?
@johnbyrne9210 Жыл бұрын
Yes I did nicky doyle rip wexford man
@Craig-xr1bw7 ай бұрын
Oh the paddy man can graft, but by fuvk they can drink, picked up at the same pup in the morning they were dropped aff at the night before, full wage due to the bar maid every week,
@GeoffMaxwell7 ай бұрын
some off them men set up themselves and became very wealthy and some took to the drink and some just grafted on and on
@paddyboy5573 жыл бұрын
Dog eat Dog as a ganger or Foreman you had to be tough with the subbies or the job wouldn’t get done and you were out yourself. The lads that done the best were the ones who stayed awAy from the Drink and the Irish clubs once you got your feet under you.
@folksurvival4 жыл бұрын
Does anyone know which year this was filmed? Looks like early 90s
@natbro42834 жыл бұрын
unlockthepower 1991 I believe
@folksurvival4 жыл бұрын
@@natbro4283 Thank you. I tried looking up the story shown on the front page of the newspaper at the end but didn't find it.
@folksurvival4 жыл бұрын
@@natbro4283 I just saw there is another upload of it with the date of 1991 listed in the description too.
@jamieshannon98094 жыл бұрын
Going by the vehicle registrations anytime between 1985 and 1988.
@Abcd-hr9ot3 жыл бұрын
80s
@ABCDEFGconversation11 ай бұрын
Please Tony please
@cbwatters2 жыл бұрын
I worked for the Brown McNicholas
@user-whu7 ай бұрын
Just come across this on KZfaq, I also worked for brown macs in east London, there was also another depot in the south, Brixton I believe both sides were on LEB cable contracts, I never forget it though it was proper graft
@cbwatters29 күн бұрын
@@user-whu Eltham was a depot, south of the river.
@liam.44543 жыл бұрын
When they talk about Irish people doing this sort of work what do they mean exactly? Are they groundworkers? Carpenters? Plumbers? I'm no expert on construction but I just feel curious
@natbro42833 жыл бұрын
Ground workers is the closest. Mainly trench digging and pipe /cable laying 🙂
@liam.44543 жыл бұрын
Thanks buddy I’m a bit clueless with construction but I got an Irish dad so I find the subject Interesting,
@liam.44543 жыл бұрын
If these jobs was advertised in say the Job centre, what would they say? Would it say groundworker/labourer? Or would they’re be a different (sorry for all the questions, I won’t keep asking)
@natbro42833 жыл бұрын
Liam lll no worries I’ve worked on construction for 25 years and am still learning :) ground workers and labourers are usually advertised at the same time, although they are slightly different. Groundworkers are more experienced / skilled and usually command a slightly higher wage. But they need labourers to help them.
@MrFootballfu3 жыл бұрын
Mostly construction labourers, but skilled trades as well, far as I remember, bizarre culture trap, even in the 80s when I came to London, boys with education were drawn into these jobs, Irishness became exaggerated I think, deeper accents more drinking, more swearing, more second hand suits even, going back in time to identify with each other
@gerardcoyne92103 жыл бұрын
This guy loves himself, he thinks he's special. Deluded
@healthydee381 Жыл бұрын
Which guy? There are so many in the program.
@mikewatt87068 ай бұрын
I went to london age 18 and stayed 30 years and i did 1 day in construction and thought screw this. I don't think i ever worked with another irish man. I did various jobs until a friend helped me bullshit my way into railway maintenance. I had my fair share of drink and women but i did what most didn't and i travelled the world. No point working hard just to piss it on a pub wall 7 nites a week. Lots made it but lots more didnt. Its very sad but thats the way it goes. But without paddy and the black men london would still be a swamp
@Ste20237 ай бұрын
If you watch the film (1990) Not many blacks worked . they were , not given a opportunity sadly 😕
@leoocallaghan36422 ай бұрын
They were never appreciated
@annheaphy9887 Жыл бұрын
Read the comments
@here_we_go_again25713 жыл бұрын
"Oh as down the glen came McAlpine's men, with their shovels slung behind them , ... " "McAlpine's Fusilliers" by Dominic Behan (Made famous by Ronnie Drew & the Dubliners. *"The Dubliners - McAlpines Fusiliers" (lyrics)* kzfaq.info/get/bejne/rqubZpqlmbK7oGQ.html
@unaquinn72073 жыл бұрын
7
@sallymcginley6944 Жыл бұрын
Very hard working men willing to do what they can to earn their money good luck with a that