North side/south side
There is a northside/southside thing in Dublin city. The southside is traditionally the posh side and many southsiders consider the northside to be inhabited by tribes of subhuman proles.
Over time this clear distinction has been eroded somewhat by (i) the public authorities locating tracts of public housing on the southside, (ii) the existence of some posh areas on the northside, (iii) the emergence of an east/west split, and (iv) the inevitable movement south of some northsiders in search of status, or property values, or just to get away from their savage neighbours.

Various counties
My mother had always told me, or at least had given me the impression, that her family, on her mother's side, went way back in Dublin. However, my probings revealed that her grandfather came from Wicklow and her grandmother from Laois (Queen's County in those days).
Equally, on my father's side, I knew he was born in Ballyhaunis in Co. Mayo, and thought his father might have been from Tipperary as Dwyer was a Tipperary name. However, I now find that one of his grandfathers was from Co. Limerick, and the other from Co. Sligo.
If we count temporary residences, we can add: Longford and Offaly. Mind you, it's still only eight out of twenty six counties.
Republican/BA/RIC
Another division in Irish society is between those with republican credentials and those more closely associated with the (former British) establishment.

On the other side I have: relatives who fought, and died, in the British Army (including at the Somme in 1916); constables in the Royal Irish Constabulary; and a bootmaker and a caterer for the British Army.
The balance is pretty definitely one way.
Genes
And what of the gene pool?

acute peretonitis; asphyxia – result of immersion; asthma; bronchitis; cancer; cardiac failure; coronary thrombosis; exhaustion; gout; infantile cholera; inflammation from teething; parkinsons; tuberculosisA number of these conditions are cited in multiple cases.
Tradesmen/clerks
The variety of career backgrounds also proved interesting. I had known about some of them but the full range surprised me. Many of these also have multiple instances:
ancestors
bootmaker; carpenter; civil servant; clerk; constable; domestic servant; farmer; labourer; manager; salesperson; shopkeeper
family
air hostess; auctioneer; barperson; businessman; carer; civil servant; comptometer instructor; cooper; counsellor; court clerk; dressmaker; engineer; hairdresser; journalist; lawyer; machinist; priest; professor; receptionist; soldier; teacher; undertaker
"Another division in Irish society is between those with republican credentials and those more closely associated with the (former British) establishment."
ReplyDeleteWho gives a damn anyway? None of us existed before 1940!
Some of us didn't exist even after 1940!
ReplyDelete