- 2 hours ago
Come To Your Census - Season 1 Episode 2
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Short filmTranscript
00:20Here I am surrounded by these hundreds and hundreds of boxes of facts about
00:29people's lives and their stories, their birth places, who they were married to, where they
00:36were from, what jobs they did, in effect an entire country being gathered together.
00:44Among these boxes that are records of the new state saying who has survived after all
00:51these years of trauma, the 15 years that have passed since the last census undertaken by
00:57the British authorities, this is the first one that we as an Irish people are going to
01:02undertake ourselves, let's have a look at what we are.
01:06In 1926 Ireland conducted its first census as an independent nation.
01:13One hundred years later the National Archives have made that census freely available online
01:19across the world.
01:23For this series, six of us, including myself, Eileen Walsh, have been given the privilege
01:29of opening these books and to reflect on some of the lives captured in those records a century
01:36later.
01:37One hundred years later.
01:59One hundred years later.
02:05One hundred years later.
02:08One hundred years later.
02:11One hundred years later.
02:13One hundred years later.
02:13One hundred years later.
02:14One hundred years later.
02:15One hundred years later.
02:18One hundred years later.
02:20One hundred years later.
02:20One hundred years later.
02:20One hundred years later.
02:22One hundred years later.
02:23One hundred years later.
02:24One hundred years later.
02:26One hundred years later.
02:26grew up in my future grandmother Ellen O'Neill and her husband Thomas O'Connor
02:36went to live there and I'm just very struck being here today at this vantage
02:44point overlooking the site how they were actually living in a kind of living map
02:49of Dublin history all in this little corner this enclave of the great wider
03:01city
03:01author Joseph O'Connor's story starts on Francis Street in Dublin's liberties
03:07where his grandparents established the family roots I would have been very aware
03:14as a child of my father's stories and songs and memories of Francis Street how
03:19important a place it was to him how grateful he was to have been brought up
03:27here
03:28we are outside Saint Nicholas of Myra church where my father was baptized made his
03:35confirmation communion this was the church for my family and in family stories of
03:41Francis Street I must say I often have a very clear picture of the place as an
03:47enclave of shops and little businesses a place of great busyness and vivid life
03:57the thing that interests me most to look into I suppose is that notion of the liberties as a separate
04:02place that notion
04:03that there's something keyed into even the name of the liberties that meant in an
04:09Ireland that became increasingly authoritarian and perhaps obedient that there was this place where people said no Liberty is part
04:17of our name that's part of where we're from and I'd like to know how true that is in the
04:23stories that were passed down to me
04:32to date we spent over 1000 days or 10,000 hours working on conserving the census
04:44Joseph begins his search as one of the first to view the newly conserved records
04:53so this has been conserved and digitized but you're the first person to see it back in its book form
05:05it's an emotional experience and I feel very privileged to be here as the first civilian
05:11to have the honor of touching these pages that in many cases people have written themselves who never knew that
05:20one day we would be here looking at their stories
05:25Mr. Macdonald was a biscuit maker
05:27their son was a coal worker
05:30here's James Rogers
05:33he was out of work for five months
05:39and here's Margaret Heenan
05:41who was a laundress
05:46William Henry Brown
05:48from Cavan
05:49and he's married to Elizabeth Brown's Church of Ireland
05:53their
05:54children are Elizabeth, James, John
05:56and Williams
05:57all the boys are apprentices
06:00in Guinness
06:03John Cavanagh
06:04is a former
06:05soldier in the British Army
06:08it's an amazing thing looking
06:10looking
06:11at this
06:12that all of the adults
06:15recorded here
06:16will have living memories
06:18of
06:19British occupation
06:21War of Independence
06:22and Civil War
06:24Mr. Keenan
06:26an out of work
06:28coffin maker
06:29he says people must have stopped dying
06:32people are having so much fun in the liberties
06:38broadcaster Louise Duffy returns to her hometown of Cross Malina
06:43County Mayo
06:44to explore her family's history in a region shaped by emigration
06:50where I grew up
06:51where I grew up
06:51there was an auntie beside us
06:53an uncle beside us
06:53along our road
06:54there was five houses full of cousins
06:58like a 45 first cousins
07:00so I think we never really needed to explore much further
07:03there was enough of us
07:04but there was a curiosity for sure
07:06about my father's grandparents
07:08but we just didn't know much about them
07:11so I'm going to ring my dad
07:12he would have a much better idea of
07:15who was there on the night of the census in 1926
07:18so I'll give him a shout
07:24hello Louise
07:25hi dad
07:26how are you
07:27very good
07:28but I'm just wondering
07:29do you ever know anything about that night
07:31or who was in the house on the night of the census in 1926
07:34in Norris Street in Cross Malina
07:37yeah
07:37the grandfather John and Mary
07:39they had ten children
07:40wow
07:41five boys and five girls
07:43yeah
07:44so what three stayed in Ireland
07:45and the rest went to England
07:47so out of ten children
07:49only two or three stayed in Ireland
07:51that's crazy
07:52yeah
07:53just
07:54we'd say two stayed in Ireland
07:56two
07:56so you
07:56Uncle Joe and my father
07:59but my father did move to England
08:00continued and stayed in Leith
08:02other than we'd say
08:04World War II
08:05when the bombing started
08:07they decided it got so bad in Leith
08:10and they moved back to Ireland
08:11wow
08:12that's insane
08:13I didn't know that
08:17is there anything you want me to find out
08:19when I'm exploring our heritage
08:22well no just actually
08:24we were there
08:25if you could go back to
08:26who was the first deputy
08:27that actually arrived in Cross Malina
08:30in Norris Street
08:30we're not going that far back
08:35so this is Earth Street
08:37this is where my family were in 1926
08:42well I know now that there was ten children
08:44in a small house
08:47I want to know who else was around them
08:49I want to kind of piece together
08:50what the day-to-day life was like
08:53it's such a significant document
08:55and I think the significance of
08:56the future generations
08:58like we're doing right now
08:59looking back and trying to learn more
09:01and piece together their history
09:03and their heritage
09:09it's now Louise's chance
09:11to go through the census records
09:13for Cross Malina
09:15and the pages that record her family among them
09:19this was the forms that they all filled out
09:24I think we're kind of close to the street
09:26where my family were now
09:27Cross Malina North
09:29it's lovely
09:30like I just love this town
09:31it's just that community that's kind of built around
09:34the GAA and music
09:37so many of my friends have stayed in Cross Malina
09:40so it's still a really vibrant community, you know
09:44certain names are already jumping out
09:46families that, you know, are still in the town
09:48like we are
09:49Marshes are a family that are still on that street
09:52Robert Marsh is a blacksmith
09:55Patrick Doyle and Nora Doyle
09:57and he's a baker
10:00even after talking to my dad
10:01just what his life was like
10:03and how important neighbours were to him
10:05beside him
10:06his family
10:07they were tailors
10:08you know, there was lots of little shops
10:10along just one street
10:12and everybody just found something
10:14to complement what was needed
10:16and it all worked together
10:19Maria MacDonald
10:21she filled it out so beautifully
10:25Winifred Fleming
10:26and she's living with her four daughters
10:28and one son
10:29Bridget Gallagher
10:31a head of the household
10:32she's 47
10:34I've turned four pages
10:36and there's three female heads of the household
10:40and now we're at my family
10:44so this is John Duffy
10:46when this was done
10:47he was 75
10:48so he was born
10:51just after the famine
10:52like it's only generations ago
10:54but like when we were growing up
10:56it seemed like eons
10:58my great-grandmother was 58
11:01and then Joseph Duffy
11:03Robert Duffy
11:04that's my grandfather
11:06it's kind of amazing
11:08just to think that was in their hands
11:09and that they gathered together to write this
11:12my grandfather was 21
11:1517, 10
11:16the daughters were 26, 22, 13 and 11
11:20and my great-grandfather filled it out himself
11:23James Duffy
11:24was the only son who didn't leave Ireland
11:28who didn't emigrate
11:29my grandfather emigrated
11:31and eventually the rest of them will all leave
11:34this is so enlightening
11:35to learn about this big family
11:39these are the images that you'll see
11:43it goes over to QA
11:45and then we have a team over there
11:47that will make sure the quality is up to standard
11:53couldn't even tell you
11:54couldn't even start to tell you what we've done
11:56it's just never-ending
12:03Joseph is continuing to search through the census pages
12:07for Francis Street
12:09this is an apology
12:10of stories of what Dublin was like
12:14on that night a hundred years ago
12:15and I feel those people whispering
12:18and I feel those facts pressing
12:20and it's a lovely thing to be part of
12:26now
12:27I'm turning over to the
12:29summary form
12:31for Francis Street
12:34so
12:35things just got exciting
12:42number 15
12:43the head of the house is Ellen O'Neill
12:47that was my grandmother's name
12:51and John O'Neill who's 48
12:55is a chimney cleaner
12:58I know that if you're a Cockney
13:01it's considered very good luck
13:03to have had an ancestor
13:04who was a chimney sweep
13:06and I've just discovered
13:07that I literally do
13:10we've Ellen O'Neill who was 22
13:12in 1926
13:14I think that could be my grandmother
13:16who's a shop assistant
13:18yeah she's clearly she's working in
13:20her mother's shop
13:22that's
13:22that's my lovely grandmother
13:24to be
13:25so it's amazing to see her
13:29my grandmother was a hugely important
13:31person to me
13:33all our grandmothers were
13:35she was the first adult
13:37who I ever remember
13:38using the word
13:39love
13:40to me
13:41she was a word that she didn't
13:43hear much
13:44and that's my memory of her
13:46as a person who loved
13:47love
13:49family
13:49connectedness
13:50support
13:52community
13:52and she's still a very
13:54vivid presence
13:55in my life
13:56so I had a kind of shorthand
13:59version of this
14:01story
14:02story
14:02which is that
14:03when Ellen
14:05got married
14:06they went to Canada
14:07and then when they moved back
14:09they moved into this house
14:11but she's not married yet
14:12she's not married at this time
14:14she's only
14:15she's only 22
14:16and I know she didn't
14:18get married till she was
14:1825 or 26
14:19but it's so lovely to think
14:21of her working there
14:22in the shop
14:23and living with the parents
14:25and having their whole life
14:26ahead
14:27and that I actually
14:29knew this woman
14:30I knew
14:31this Ellen O'Neill
14:34The feelings I have
14:36are not quite the ones
14:37that I thought
14:38because
14:39I thought that I would
14:41have an awareness
14:42of the importance
14:44of
14:44this
14:45collection of
14:47information
14:47and I do feel those things
14:49but I actually feel
14:50something far more
14:51intimate
14:51which is the kind of closeness
14:54with my own
14:55people
14:56from Francis Street
14:58and the Liberties
15:10when you get to play
15:12somewhere like
15:12the National in London
15:14and they talk to you about
15:16you know
15:16when you play
15:17the Olivier stage
15:18it's only plays
15:19that talk to the gods
15:21that work on the Olivier stage
15:24and I think
15:25wow
15:25we've grown up here
15:26with the Abbey
15:27and all we do
15:28is talk to the gods
15:31I want to find out more
15:33about the place
15:34I grew up
15:34Quaker Road
15:35in Cork City
15:36luckily
15:37I'm in a play
15:38with my sister Catherine
15:39who knows far more
15:41about the history
15:41than I ever did
15:42so I'm due to go
15:44into the census tomorrow
15:46yeah
15:46and I know
15:48I'm going to be
15:48finding out about
15:49Quaker Road
15:50yes
15:50and about Granda
15:52what age do you reckon
15:53he was?
15:53yeah I think he was
15:54born in 1904
15:55right
15:56so he'll be about 22
15:57I mean I forever
15:59remember him
16:00as an old guy
16:01with his three piece suit
16:03and his trilby
16:03his hat
16:04you know what I mean?
16:05when he moved in
16:07to Quaker Road
16:08he obviously bought it
16:09as a small apartment
16:11or a little
16:12well we do
16:13it would have been
16:13more of a tenement
16:14I guess
16:14it would be interesting
16:14to see if in the census
16:16he is in one of the rooms
16:17or if he has the lower floor
16:19yes
16:19and then he moved in
16:20from the countryside
16:22from the country
16:23because he was a country boy
16:24wasn't he?
16:24now he met his wife
16:25while he was
16:27on the trams
16:28yeah
16:29so he was the bus
16:30the tram conductor
16:31taking the money
16:32you know the tickets
16:32he would have been
16:33a soldier by then
16:34oh yeah
16:35he was a soldier
16:36he was known as
16:37the young boy soldier
16:38so he was a soldier
16:38by 14 and 15
16:40he died when he was
16:41in his 80s
16:42and how old were you?
16:42five or six?
16:43six or something
16:44yeah
16:44because I remember
16:45being about 14 or 15
16:47there is that brilliant story
16:48that we always grew up with
16:50Granda had said
16:51that there was guns
16:52buried in the garden
16:53yeah
16:54when there was work done
16:55on the family house
16:57yeah
16:57there was kind of a fear of it
16:59there was an amnesty
17:00so you had to hand back
17:01the guns
17:01and if you were found
17:02with them after that
17:03there was kind of
17:04you know a chance
17:04of being prosecuted
17:05yeah
17:05so I think there was word
17:06of a gun up the chimney
17:07that was handed back
17:08oh okay
17:09and then he had
17:10buried
17:11the second gun
17:12in concrete
17:14yeah
17:14in the garden
17:15so it wouldn't be discovered
17:16oh hang on
17:18I mean they were always
17:20really poor
17:21but everybody was
17:22everybody
17:23you'd had
17:23Spanish flu
17:24yeah
17:26and
17:27burning of cork
17:28like it's devastating
17:30yeah
17:30the effects of it
17:31and you never think about
17:33like them walking around
17:34that city
17:35or seeing
17:35that city
17:36that cork city
17:37you know
17:37it must have had a big
17:38it would have psychologically
17:39a huge effect
17:40on people
17:41yeah
17:45Quaker Road
17:46is a very tight community
17:48my mum
17:50raised a lot of the kids
17:51on that road
17:52just from
17:53allowing other women
17:54to go back to work
17:56my dad
17:58as well
17:58would have been
17:59hugely popular
18:00within the community
18:01so we kind of
18:01we learned an awful lot
18:03about family
18:04and connections
18:05and resilience
18:06and the network
18:08of leaning in on people
18:14I think I'm really intrigued
18:17about turning my granddad
18:19into a man
18:21because for me
18:23growing up
18:23he was always an old man
18:25so I'm looking forward
18:26to seeing who he was
18:27as a young man
18:28and who he was
18:29as a person
18:37here we go
18:38oh this is Quaker Road
18:39and already
18:41the cars
18:42who were a mechanic
18:46he's from Estonia
18:49that's incredible
18:51and I wonder
18:52how they were treated
18:53on the road
18:53were they embraced
18:55into the community
18:59this is
19:0131
19:02Quaker Road
19:03Annie
19:04Maria Barrett
19:06the head
19:07the widow again
19:08that kind of
19:09breaks my heart
19:10and she's living
19:10with her sister-in-law
19:11and then they've got
19:12a couple of borders
19:13labour down the docks
19:15out of work
19:16six months
19:1955
19:19hard to be out of work
19:20at 55
19:23at 39
19:24that's a busy
19:25old house
19:2613
19:28in seven rooms
19:30yikes
19:31isn't that amazing
19:34Parfrey
19:34oh
19:37gosh
19:38when I was growing up
19:40there was a
19:41very beautiful
19:42old lady
19:44called Mrs. Parfrey
19:46who lived at 43
19:47who would take me
19:48on a Sunday drive
19:49it's kind of amazing
19:5344
19:55Nagel
19:56mother is 74
19:58daughter is 27
20:02god the intensity
20:04of living with your
20:07parent
20:08I've written the play
20:10I've got it going on
20:11in my head
20:13medical student
20:14again
20:15very good
20:16cabinet maker
20:17look
20:18for jewelers
20:19and silversmiths
20:20I mean
20:20a customs and
20:21excise officer
20:24for the distillery
20:25I mean
20:26for a road
20:27that felt like
20:28it was very
20:29working class
20:32very much
20:33you know
20:34everybody on an
20:34equal struggle
20:35there's a lot
20:36of medical students
20:37there's
20:38there's a lot
20:39of working
20:40for the post office
20:41and stuff
20:41as well
20:41like
20:41it's kind of
20:42interesting
20:46guys we're at
20:4745
20:49oh
20:50it's Nagel
20:51again
20:5546
20:58I'm missing
20:59Granda
21:01I don't know
21:02I suppose
21:02it would have been
21:03amazing to see
21:04Granda's name
21:05obviously he hadn't
21:06moved in yet
21:07where was he
21:13to get a deeper
21:14sense of what
21:15Cross Malina
21:16was like
21:17in 1926
21:18Louise meets
21:19historian
21:20Sinead McCool
21:22in Cross Malina
21:23today I would
21:23think that you
21:24have a very
21:25similar life
21:26to what happened
21:26in the past
21:27the centre
21:27being the church
21:28you've got
21:29Gaelic football
21:30you've got
21:30sport
21:30you've got
21:32the helping
21:32of the neighbours
21:33but you also
21:34have the difference
21:34of a slower
21:36pace of life
21:37a lot more
21:37conversation
21:38a lot more
21:39connecting
21:39between people
21:40a lot more
21:41writing letters
21:41a lot more
21:42receiving letters
21:43there was nothing
21:43else you know
21:44we didn't have
21:45all of the
21:45distractions we do
21:46now so there's
21:47a lot more
21:47connection really
21:49yeah and I think
21:50one of the things
21:50that we have to
21:51remember of this
21:52time is
21:52is the context
21:53of the time
21:5620s is a very
21:57uncomfortable
21:58time for people
21:59because we have
22:00the period of
22:01the war of
22:02independence
22:02and then into
22:03the civil war
22:03which obviously
22:04impacted Mayo
22:05so there had
22:06been informers
22:07within the
22:07community
22:08so that's
22:08changing the
22:09dynamic
22:13when we think
22:14about it as
22:14being a sort
22:15of a peaceful
22:16community
22:16with your friends
22:17and family
22:18but the wider
22:19world is coming
22:20in and it's
22:20slightly threatening
22:21so
22:21but I wonder
22:22about you know
22:24the sense of
22:25leaving then
22:26you know
22:26and I'll take
22:27my grandmother
22:27my great grandmother
22:28as an example
22:29as well
22:29she had 10
22:31children
22:31nine of them
22:32emigrated
22:33so I just
22:34wonder about
22:35that level
22:35of loss
22:36in her life
22:39I think you
22:40have to remember
22:41that you have
22:42the letter
22:43right
22:43so you never
22:44lose them
22:45some people
22:46left and didn't
22:48communicate with
22:48home as in any
22:49family right
22:50but they had a
22:51pride
22:51you can just
22:53imagine the
22:54conversation about
22:56my son's here
22:57my daughter's here
22:58they've got this
22:59job
22:59so there was an
23:00element that when
23:01you left
23:01you were going
23:02into a career
23:04that you could
23:04never get here
23:05there were prospects
23:06there was this idea
23:09that there was a
23:10good life
23:11but they never
23:11lost that sense
23:13of place
23:14of family
23:15with a missing
23:16grandfather
23:17and none of our
23:18family living in
23:19number 45
23:19I ring Catherine
23:21to work out where
23:22he might have been
23:23on the night of
23:23the census
23:24yeah no so we
23:25don't have him
23:26on the 26th census
23:28in Quaker Road
23:30Johnny and Minnie
23:31were married
23:32and living in
23:34North Cork
23:34and so maybe
23:36he's staying
23:37with them
23:38on the night
23:39of the census
23:42I've talked to
23:43Catherine
23:43and Catherine
23:44spoke to my
23:45mother
23:45and they seem
23:47to think
23:48that he lived
23:50with his brother
23:50Johnny
23:51over on the
23:52north side
23:53of Cork
23:54possibly
23:55the night
23:56of
23:57the census
24:03I'm very nervous
24:04all of a sudden
24:06O'Neill
24:07Quinn
24:09Breen
24:09Egan
24:10okay
24:12Minnie
24:14guys
24:15Minnie's here
24:15John
24:17McCarthy
24:18Head
24:19but Patrick's
24:20not here
24:23where did he
24:24spend the night
24:28no
24:29hang on
24:34he's here
24:35because
24:36I got a fright
24:37there's a
24:37Patrick McCarthy
24:38but he's 80
24:39who's a border
24:40Patrick McCarthy
24:42border
24:43and he's 22
24:45single
24:47hasn't met his wife yet
24:51and he's a tram conductor
24:53already
24:55oh
24:56that's amazing
24:59so maybe he's with
25:01his own dad
25:03so both of them
25:04end up with Johnny
25:06for that time
25:07we know that Johnny
25:08went on
25:09to give
25:10granda
25:10Patrick
25:11young Patrick
25:12the down payment
25:14to start
25:16start putting roots down
25:20and lovely to think
25:21he started his journey
25:22he's already started
25:24he's on his way
25:26being on the trams
25:27it won't stay single
25:29for long
25:29so that's kind of nice
25:31to think
25:32he's on his way
25:33which means
25:33I'm on my way
25:38after looking at the returns
25:39for Francis Street
25:40Joseph wants a broader
25:42sense of the area
25:43he's meeting historian
25:45Liz Gillis
25:46herself a daughter
25:48of the Liberties
25:49this area was actually
25:51called the Liberties
25:52by King Henry II
25:54you had the medieval city
25:55of Dublin
25:56which was walled
25:57and then you had
25:58the areas outside
25:59and the reason
26:01that this area
26:02is given the title
26:03as a liberty
26:04they were independent
26:05of the medieval city
26:06the Liberties
26:07Meade Street
26:08Thomas Street
26:08Francis Street
26:09all of that area
26:10it's like its own
26:11little entity
26:13as for the people
26:14then who live here
26:15they take that mentality
26:16on as well
26:17where they
26:17are quite independent
26:21there's a great mix
26:22of people
26:23from day one
26:25that comes to the Liberties
26:27and again
26:27there's a reason
26:28for this
26:28breweries
26:29distilleries
26:30textile industry
26:31was huge
26:32and it's a melting pot
26:34if you look at the previous census
26:36there were very significant numbers
26:38of Italian craftsmen
26:40who had moved
26:41to the Liberties
26:42we had an area
26:43known as Little Italy
26:44they were coming from
26:45the 1800s
26:46even before that
26:47when Catholic emancipation
26:48is granted
26:49there's just a building boom
26:50across this country
26:51of churches
26:52but they need
26:53the experts
26:54but then later on
26:56it would be more
26:56people who are
26:58street vendors
26:59cafes
26:59ice cream parlours
27:01just an interesting
27:02other little thing
27:03that the Liberties
27:04may have given
27:04to Ireland
27:05through its openness
27:07to people from other
27:08places
27:10on the night of the census
27:12there are 1300 people
27:13living on Francis Street
27:15it's a noisy
27:16crowded
27:17busy
27:18colourful
27:19vibrant
27:19place
27:20this was one of the most
27:22densely populated areas
27:24in the city
27:25it still is
27:25because you had
27:26jobs
27:27and good jobs
27:29like anyone
27:30who lived
27:31in the tenements
27:31the women
27:32were so proud
27:33of their
27:34their little
27:36area
27:36like they'd be out
27:37cleaning the steps
27:38the Brasso had to be done
27:40like they were spotless
27:43at one stage
27:44this street
27:45would have been just full
27:46of all the traders
27:48this is like
27:49a memory window
27:50of people
27:51who are still
27:52people who have
27:54passed
27:54there's Tommy
27:55that was my dad's
27:56best lady there
27:56that's Tommy Cowboy
27:57that I know
27:57and that's Nathan
27:59is running
28:00his dad's stop
28:01there
28:03one of the things
28:04that always struck me
28:05about my grandmother
28:07was there was nearly
28:08a list of words
28:09that she would not use
28:11about the liberties
28:12poverty
28:14was one
28:15destitution
28:16they thought
28:17if you're from
28:17the liberties
28:18you're an aristocrat
28:20the liberties
28:21is seen
28:21as a disadvantaged
28:23derelict
28:24deprived area
28:26no it's not
28:27what comes across
28:28from those pages
28:29is not
28:30we are poor
28:31we are victims
28:32it's that
28:34we are resourceful
28:35we are positive
28:36it's moving to see
28:37isn't it
28:37we could do with
28:38a bit of that
28:39maybe
28:39a bit of that
28:40spirit
28:43what is amazing
28:44about these records
28:45being released
28:47to the public
28:48not behind a paywall
28:49is that
28:50it democratizes
28:52history
28:53it gives it to
28:54the people
28:55it gives it back to the people who made it
28:56and we can take ownership
29:01thank you very much
29:02we light a candle
29:04for our ancestors
29:05yeah
29:05liberty's ancestors
29:07god bless them
29:08right
29:08you light one for mine
29:10I light one for yours
29:17after looking at the census
29:18for Quaker Road
29:19I'm left with a number
29:21of questions
29:22historian Tomás McEnmara
29:24helps me to find out more
29:26something that I was really surprised at
29:28was I suppose
29:28the socio-economic
29:29mixture of people
29:31on one road
29:32that
29:33I wasn't expecting
29:35I was expecting it to be more
29:36manual labour
29:37I guess
29:38ten years
29:39before the 1926 census
29:40you would have seen
29:41a different reality
29:42you'd have probably seen
29:43more equality
29:45on the road
29:45but that would have been
29:46equality of
29:47absolute poverty
29:49and your granddad
29:50and your family
29:51you know
29:51aren't massively affluent
29:52of course
29:53but they're at the same time
29:54in a much more
29:55they're reaching up
29:55yeah they're very much
29:56reaching up
29:56and I think
29:57what that speaks to
29:58in the case of your granddad
29:59and his contemporaries
30:01would be a real determination
30:02when an opportunity comes
30:05to take that opportunity
30:06and to work really really hard
30:10your granddad comes in
30:11from the country
30:12into the city
30:13but what seems to be the case
30:14with your granddad Patrick
30:15is that
30:15when he begins working on
30:17as a tram conductor
30:18in Cork City
30:19he seems to have
30:21this incredible determination
30:22to get on
30:24to try and build
30:25towards stability
30:26so when he gets
30:27to that point
30:28in the late 1920s
30:29and does purchase
30:3145 Quaker Road
30:32it is an incredible moment
30:33and he creates
30:35this stability
30:35and this anchor
30:36for the McCarthy family
30:37that of course
30:39continues to this day
30:41for you
30:41I mean a phenomenal achievement
30:42but when you consider
30:43your granddad's background
30:44he's from a republican area
30:46he's from a republican family
30:48and would that have played
30:49against him?
30:50well where it would have played
30:51against him
30:52is that he takes
30:52an anti-treaty position
30:54in the civil war
30:55that is led by Tom Barry
30:56you know
30:57who's recognised
30:57as one of the most
30:59significant IRA leaders
31:00in the entire war
31:02of independence
31:02in the entire revolutionary period
31:04for those people
31:05with an anti-treaty background
31:06it was not a very welcoming state
31:08really?
31:09there are hundreds
31:10and hundreds of
31:11anti-treaty republicans
31:12are forced to immigrate
31:13from Ireland
31:14as a result of their treatment
31:15by the free state
31:16there was huge recognition
31:18of your grandfather's role
31:19and that's of course
31:20manifest very powerfully
31:22and very profoundly
31:23at his funeral
31:23when he's given an IRA
31:25guard
31:25and their shots
31:26fired over his grave
31:28and again
31:29that's not something
31:30that was afforded
31:30to everybody
31:31and it's a really strong
31:32indication
31:32of how active
31:34and how committed
31:34of a republican he was
31:36I spend so much time
31:42working away
31:42so coming home to Cork
31:44and to Quaker Road
31:45always feels special
31:47it's the place
31:48that grounds me
31:50Quaker Road
31:51is hugely important
31:53to my identity
31:54it's very much
31:56who I am
31:57and what informs
31:59the work I do
32:01my best friend
32:02Emma Dewan
32:03was the butcher's daughter
32:04at the top of the road
32:05we babysat for John Lynch
32:07who owned the shop
32:08at the end
32:08so it was a very
32:10tight community
32:13and of course
32:14the indomitable
32:16May Power
32:17who lived here
32:20but this is the wall
32:22that became our Wimbledon
32:24that became
32:25you know
32:26Parky Keeve
32:27it was everything
32:28much to her
32:30annoyance
32:31I'm sure
32:31playing donkey
32:33up against it
32:36very lucky
32:37to have grown up
32:38in the house
32:39that my mother
32:41grew up in
32:41and that her father
32:44bought
32:45room by room
32:49a lot of
32:50this much
32:51of the garden
32:51was all
32:52pig pens
32:53potatoes
32:53and salads
32:54and all that
32:55kind of stuff
32:55and then his greenhouse
32:56was in the middle
32:57and that's where
32:58he would graze
32:59his sheep
33:00and at the end
33:01of the garden
33:02is the bath
33:03that my dad
33:04had to learn
33:04how to dip
33:05and shear
33:09it was down here
33:10I was sent
33:11to get him
33:12in for his dinner
33:14and he wasn't
33:15in the bedroom
33:15praying
33:16so I checked
33:17the garden
33:17so I came down
33:18to the garden
33:19and he had
33:21taken a heart attack
33:22and all I remember
33:24seeing were his
33:24wellies
33:25his working wellies
33:26facing me
33:27and his suit
33:29but he had hit his
33:30head on a rock
33:31when he was trying
33:32to go into
33:32the sheep
33:33and he died
33:35he had died there
33:36so I remember
33:37running back up
33:38the garden
33:38and seeing my mum
33:39through the slatted
33:40glass
33:42and I was like
33:42something's not right
33:43with Ganda
33:46yeah so he was
33:47laid out in the house
33:48for three days
33:49and I remember
33:50it being a very
33:51busy house
33:51of people coming
33:52and paying their respects
33:53and everybody
33:54being very patriotic
33:56around it
33:57I was probably
33:59seven
33:59you know
34:00but I remember
34:01being very minded
34:02and being allowed
34:03very close
34:04to the coffin
34:11Louise's father
34:12is showing her
34:13the place
34:14her grandmother
34:14came from
34:15the small town land
34:17of Lahar Don
34:18my mother went to school
34:20here
34:20and her mother
34:22was a teacher
34:23in the school
34:24you can see the dates
34:25there
34:251970 to 2000
34:27it's there
34:27she had a brother
34:29and a sister
34:30and the family
34:32grew up
34:32but they never
34:34emigrated
34:34no
34:35they stayed around
34:35yeah
34:36ok ok
34:36where is
34:37on your dad's
34:38side of the family
34:39Tim and the family
34:40and
34:418 of them
34:43emigrated
34:44to like London
34:46and
34:47Leeds
34:48my mother
34:48got married
34:49in England
34:50in Leeds
34:51and their first
34:52child was born
34:54in the Americas
34:55so then after that
34:57they moved back
34:57to Cosmelina
34:58there you go
34:59yeah
34:59yeah
35:00that's where it started
35:01yeah
35:03I have the book
35:05from the census
35:06from Addergul
35:08my grandmother
35:09was 10 when this
35:09was documented
35:10this is 100 years ago
35:12but I sat on her knee
35:13I spent the first
35:15three years of my life
35:16with her every day
35:16she was a really
35:18really kind lady
35:18and she was
35:20Mary May
35:21but she became
35:21Mary Duffy
35:22but everybody in the town
35:24called her Mammy Duffy
35:25so it's really
35:26beautiful to have
35:27a moment to look at
35:28her life
35:31so they're here
35:32she was one of
35:34three
35:35and her dad
35:36was a farmer
35:37John May
35:37Ellen May
35:39as farmers
35:40they had 22 acres
35:41compared to the
35:41two acres
35:42of the Duffies
35:43in the town
35:44so you just kind of
35:45get the sense
35:45that this would have
35:46been a harder life
35:47and it might have
35:48been easier to live
35:48in the town
35:49with everyone around
35:50you with all that
35:51support
35:55this is the Titanic
35:56village in Laredon
35:57just over the road
35:58from Crossmalina
35:59in fact
35:59my grandmother
36:00came from here
36:04it just shows
36:05the amount of people
36:06that were constantly
36:07leaving these small
36:09villages
36:09so this is just
36:10one small village
36:11and 14 people
36:12left on the Titanic
36:13and all but
36:14three of them died
36:18and it's just
36:19incredible
36:19for a small village
36:20that so many families
36:22were impacted
36:26so now I have an
36:27opportunity to look
36:28at the overall
36:28sense of what's
36:30happening
36:30comparatively across
36:3211 censuses
36:33from 1821
36:34right up to 1926
36:36it's stark reading
36:37for Mayo
36:38it really is
36:39obviously during the
36:40famine
36:41there was a huge
36:42fall off
36:42immigration
36:43and death
36:43and in Mayo
36:45during those 10 years
36:46we lost 29%
36:47of our population
36:48but if you move
36:50over to 1926
36:51we were still
36:52losing so many
36:54people
36:54there was such
36:54a decrease
36:55so if you look
36:56at it comparatively
36:57from 10 years
36:59from 1901
37:00to 1911
37:00three times
37:01more people
37:02had left
37:02the rates of
37:03immigration
37:04had trebled
37:05the only place
37:06that had increased
37:07in those years
37:08was Dublin
37:08City and County
37:09and they went
37:10up 6%
37:11everywhere else
37:12was falling
37:21there was a picture
37:23of the liberties
37:23as a place
37:24of immigrants
37:26the Mushat brothers
37:28were the local
37:29chemists
37:29two Jewish brothers
37:31who came from
37:32Lithuania
37:34the ice cream shop
37:35on Francis Street
37:36was Johnny Ray's
37:37the owner was Giovanni Ray
37:39who was from Italy
37:42and here living
37:44at number 56
37:45High Street
37:47we have
37:48the Sartini family
37:51we turn
37:52the page
37:52and we have
37:53the Rocca family
37:54and it's a great
37:55joy to
37:57see them here
37:58I have a long time
37:59friend
38:00whose surname
38:01is Rocca
38:01I didn't know
38:03that Bernice Rocca's
38:05ancestors
38:06were in the same
38:08book
38:08as mine
38:09High Street is
38:10half a kilometre
38:11from Francis Street
38:14Joseph is meeting
38:15a friend of over
38:1640 years
38:17Bernice Rocca
38:18to share his
38:19findings from
38:20the 1926 census
38:22my grandfather
38:24Judio
38:25came to Ireland
38:27after the Civil War
38:28in 1922
38:29his uncle
38:31was already here
38:33he was only 16
38:35I think
38:36when he came over
38:38I remember
38:38meeting you
38:39and having a sense
38:40that your family
38:42and my family
38:43might have been
38:43quite close
38:45given that they're
38:46both from
38:46the city
38:47would you like me
38:48to show you
38:49the 1926 census
38:52so we see that
38:54Joseph Rocca
38:56so in the 1911 census
38:59we have Mary
39:00is right
39:01so you can see here
39:02that a very sad
39:03thing has happened
39:04Joseph Giuseppe
39:06is listed as a widower
39:09Mary sadly died
39:11I didn't know that
39:14so we have four lads
39:16living in the house
39:17Joseph
39:17John
39:18Anthony
39:19and Edidio
39:21Edidio
39:22my grandfather
39:23Edidio
39:24and my grandmother
39:25Agnes Conningham
39:27your grandmother
39:28Agnes Conningham
39:29is my grandmother
39:30right
39:30well
39:31there is a little
39:32love story now
39:33that we didn't
39:34know about
39:35I think they worked
39:36in the cafe
39:37I think that's
39:38when my grandparents
39:38met
39:39yeah
39:40and they're living
39:41in the same house
39:42yeah
39:42and love blossoms
39:43I'm sure
39:44it was all very
39:45innocent and pure
39:47I didn't know
39:48looking at just
39:49the bare facts
39:50of this
39:51that Agnes
39:53would actually end up
39:54marrying
39:55yes
39:55that's an amazing
39:56thing to discover
39:57they met quite early on
39:58she worked there
40:00in the cafe as well
40:04and the amazing thing
40:06is that 350 metres
40:09down the road
40:09there's a young
40:10couple who have
40:12just met
40:12and fallen in love
40:14Thomas O'Connor
40:16and Ellen O'Neill
40:18who are kind of
40:19the same age
40:20as your granddad
40:22so it is
40:24theoretically
40:25possible
40:26they might have
40:29met
40:31who knows
40:32if my grandparents
40:33might have been
40:34in the cafe
40:35but they certainly
40:36they walked
40:37the same
40:37streets
40:39so 40 years ago
40:41when we met
40:42and I had a sense
40:44that our families
40:45might have things
40:46in common
40:46they actually did
40:47and that's confirmed
40:48by the
40:49that is amazing
40:50the 1926 census
40:52the 1926 census
40:58the convent
40:59was a huge part
40:59of my life
41:00growing up
41:01it's where I went
41:02to school
41:02and as a young girl
41:04remember the nuns
41:05as a strong
41:06even scary
41:07presence
41:09for me growing up
41:10certainly Quaker Road
41:11was a mix
41:12of very different
41:14people all living
41:16close together
41:18and then
41:18you know
41:19having the convent
41:21down the road
41:21and the convent
41:22slowly changing
41:24too from being
41:25such a kind of
41:25heavy weight
41:26over a community
41:28to it actually
41:29being an aging
41:30community of nuns
41:34so this is
41:36South Presentation
41:38convent
41:40I feel like
41:41I'm allowed
41:41to look behind
41:42the wall
41:4442 women
41:47all living together
41:48they're all so
41:50stripped of
41:52their individuality
41:53aren't they
41:53because they're
41:54immediately
41:54just initials
41:57MSOS
41:58but really
42:00who
42:00who were they
42:01all these
42:02initials
42:03all these women
42:05possibly plucked
42:06from their families
42:07and a life
42:09chosen for them
42:10really
42:11to give up
42:13everything
42:14some amazing
42:15women
42:15some amazing
42:16teachers
42:17that would have
42:17changed lives
42:18but also
42:19a lot of
42:20a lot of
42:21wasted
42:22lonely women
42:23I would think
42:29we would have
42:30been brought
42:31down here
42:31on certain days
42:33to pay our
42:34respects
42:35to
42:36Nanoneagle
42:37but it's funny
42:38coming back now
42:38as a grown-up
42:39because
42:40Sister Ambrose
42:41was a teacher
42:42she was very
42:43lovely
42:43and
42:45a big
42:46supporter
42:47of acting
42:49their religious name
42:50is also there
42:51but they get their
42:51full name back
42:52which is lovely
42:54but a life lived here
42:55right
42:56professed
42:5675 years
43:00so it's kind of
43:01amazing that they
43:02get their name
43:03back
43:03because when
43:04we were looking
43:05through the census
43:06the entire
43:08convent
43:09was marked
43:09with
43:10just initials
43:12so
43:13Sister M
43:15M P
43:16or whatever
43:17who now becomes
43:19I can see
43:20Mary Carol
43:21but in religion
43:22she was Sister
43:23Mary Peter
43:34Before leaving
43:35the National Archives
43:36Joseph wants to
43:37locate his grandfather
43:38who he's not sure
43:40has met his future wife
43:41Joseph's grandmother
43:43yet
43:43Then we come
43:45to number 142
43:48where the head of house
43:49was William O'Connor
43:51a woodcutting merchant
43:54and their eldest son
43:56is Thomas O'Connor
43:57who's 22
43:58and that's my grandfather
43:59Thomas O'Connor
44:01the beauty
44:03from number 15
44:05met the handsome lad
44:07from number 142
44:10and I wouldn't be here today
44:12if they hadn't
44:16so I'm touched
44:17to see that
44:24we were sort of
44:26working roughly
44:27in alphabetical order
44:29so
44:29when we hit
44:30Waterford
44:31that was
44:32it was kind of amazing
44:34you really could see
44:35the light
44:35at the end of the tunnel
44:37we have a
44:38map that we scratch out
44:40every time we finish
44:41a county
44:42so we're slowly
44:43revealing
44:44the green
44:46we celebrate
44:47each county
44:48that we complete
44:49we're done
44:50yeah
44:51ring that bell
45:17it has given me
45:20an awareness
45:21of who we are
45:22and what my family
45:23had to go through
45:24in terms of immigration
45:25and how they
45:26lived 100 years ago
45:30I've come from a place
45:31of thinking
45:32there were tough times
45:33now thinking
45:35you know
45:35there was a lot
45:36of really special
45:37parts of their life
45:38that we would be
45:39envious of today
45:40the sense of community
45:41those family connections
45:43the neighbourly connections
45:47I can't wait
45:48to tell my daughters
45:49and bring them
45:50on this little journey
45:51and tell them
45:52about where they're from
45:53about 100 years ago
45:54and what life
45:55was like then
46:07with a missing
46:08grandfather
46:08now found
46:09I'm dying
46:10to show my sisters
46:11and mum
46:12what I've discovered
46:14census calling
46:15hello
46:18so the
46:19the exciting thing
46:20was actually
46:20finding
46:2145 Quaker Road
46:22right
46:23on the census
46:23and where do you think
46:25he was on the night
46:25of the census
46:26if he wasn't here
46:26well I think
46:27he was either
46:28over
46:29with Johnny
46:30in Mulgrave Road
46:32yeah
46:32or
46:32he could have been
46:35in Patrick's Road
46:36with Dan
46:36with Dan
46:37they found
46:39there
46:40Johnny
46:41yeah
46:41brilliant
46:42and Minnie
46:43oh my god
46:45and what did you
46:46always say about Minnie
46:47that she was older
46:48than Johnny
46:49years older
46:50than him
46:50years
46:51well apparently
46:52not
46:52he's 40
46:54and she's 40
46:55that's great
46:57isn't that amazing
46:58that's great
46:59she was a real
47:01old
47:01she was a cougar
47:03she wasn't a cougar
47:04I didn't think
47:05what's disappointing
47:05is that there's no
47:06Patrick McCarthy here
47:07so when you turn
47:09the page
47:09he's living
47:11next door
47:13no way
47:14in
47:1515a
47:16next to Johnny
47:18next to Johnny
47:19next to Johnny
47:21yeah
47:21yeah
47:22so Patrick
47:23is 22
47:24oh my god
47:26and he's
47:27single
47:27yeah
47:29then what's
47:30even more
47:30amazing
47:31is that
47:32Patrick
47:34McCarthy
47:35senior
47:35his father
47:36his dad
47:36and
47:37Catherine
47:38McCarthy
47:39his mother
47:40are boarding
47:42with them
47:43it's April
47:44because by June
47:45the father
47:46has died
47:47that's on the
47:47gravestone
47:48I'd say
47:48why the mother
47:49and the father
47:50came up
47:51and was
47:52staying with
47:52them
47:53I think
47:54the father
47:54wasn't well
47:55and he
47:56wanted
47:57to be buried
47:59in the city
47:59where they'd be
48:01near him
48:01to come
48:02to pray
48:02oh yeah
48:03oh I see
48:04it is lovely
48:06I'm surprised
48:07like
48:07I know
48:08it's lovely
48:08really to know
48:11the roots
48:12like
48:12you know
48:12yeah
48:17I didn't think
48:19I was that
48:19into finding out
48:20about the family
48:21tree
48:21and then you start
48:23looking
48:23and once you start
48:24looking
48:24your interest
48:25is piqued
48:26it's like
48:27granddad before
48:28I knew he had a name
48:29and suddenly he's
48:31Patrick McCarthy
48:32and it's beautiful
48:33you know
48:33it really makes me
48:34want to know more
48:35and it just lets you see
48:38how important
48:38census is
48:42for not just
48:43like historically
48:44but emotionally
48:45finding out who we are
48:46who made us
48:52I feel more passionately
48:54about the liberties
48:55than I did
48:55at the start
48:56of this project
48:57I've seen
48:58in my own
48:59family
49:01part of that
49:02DNA
49:03part of that
49:04inheritance
49:05of independence
49:06doing things
49:08their own way
49:08that I think
49:09my father got
49:10from his
49:11parents
49:11back in the liberties
49:12I see it in him
49:13I see it in my
49:14brothers and sisters
49:15and delightfully
49:17I have to say
49:18I see it in my own
49:19children
49:20it's been
49:21a thrilling
49:23sometimes very
49:23moving
49:24experience
49:25as well as one
49:26where I've learned
49:27a lot
49:29I am not from
49:30the liberties
49:32but I'm
49:33extremely proud
49:34to have it
49:35as part of my
49:36heritage
49:39if you want to
49:40search your own
49:41family records
49:42the National Archives
49:43have now released
49:44the 1926 census
49:46online
49:46and it's freely
49:48accessible to the
49:48public in Ireland
49:49and across the world
50:32that I've seen
50:32a lot of
50:32I see it in my
50:32house
50:32and I see it in my
50:32house
50:32house
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