Irish… After Carribee Island: the Great War 12 Apr 2018 This post follows on from these two about the afterlife of Carribee Island, for forty years the assumed - and stigmatised - home of Wolverhampton's Irish population in the nineteenth…
Black Country… Telling family stories 2 May 20172 May 2017 As part of my research I will inevitably have to tell you some family histories. I say have to - it's a vital, fascinating and relevant part of my research.…
Irish… St Patrick’s Day, 1873 17 Mar 201727 Apr 2018 Today is, of course, St Patrick's Day, and no doubt pubs across the country will be celebrating this typically alcohol-soaked celebration with a wide range of inflatable shamrocks, green top hats,…
Black Country… The desi dialectic 24 Jan 2017 Recent blog posts have been a little sparse, and that's mostly a function of learning to be a freelancer - sometimes, apparently, work comes in thick and fast and leaves…
Black Country… Black Country Irish: lies, damned lies and statistics 2 Jan 2017 We've had a quick look at some of the stories and statistics behind the Irish in the Black Country, particularly focusing on the census data for 1851. Data is an…
History… Black Country Irish: Willenhall 23 Nov 20167 Apr 2017 The rule of thumb with any sort of migration, especially when looking at the industrial era, is the larger the town, the greater the gravitation pull. Thus, London drew from all over…
Black Country… Black Country Irish: Oldbury 8 Nov 20167 Apr 2017 The 1881 census records just under 200 people living in the parish of Oldbury, then in Worcestershire, but having been born in Ireland. The census is of course a snapshot,…
Black Country… Black Country Irish: Wednesbury 19 Oct 2016 The town of Wednesbury was home to probably the most significant Irish population in the Black Country, after Wolverhampton. The nationalist journalist Hugh Heinrick reckoned that in 1872 there was…
History… Legitimate concerns? 6 Oct 2016 There's been a lot said in the last few days about migrants - how they should be listed and categorised, how people's "legitimate concerns" over influxes of labour should be…
Black Country… Black Country Irish: Red-headed Kilcoign 19 Sep 201628 May 2018 Irish Rows If there’s one thing you learn researching the Irish in the Victorian city, it’s that 19th century newspaper editors love an Irish Row. Roger Swift wrote whole papers…
