Social Change – Urban Life

Urban life 30% lived in urban areas But as rural life got mechanized… …less manual labour needed Many rural labourers unemployed Moved to city in hope of work Called migration, or rural depopulation

Work in 1900 Most people unskilled labourers – ‘casual’ jobs Carters, labourers, worked at docks Paid £1 a week

Workers No rights, no trade unions 6 day week – long hours – 11hour day James Connelly and Jim Larkin fought for better conditions 1 st trade union – Irish Transport and General Worker’s Union Employers sacked any workers who joined But eventually more joined trade unions Got better rights 40hr, 5 day week is now normal

Houses The poor lived in tenement buildings Big old houses Family rented one room – in one room Many people slept in one bed Only one tap and one outside toilet 100 people shared these! Walked everywhere

Life of poor Ate little meat Diet was mainly bread with cheese and jam Malnutrition Overcrowding, dirt, malnutrition caused diseases Only the upper classes could afford to live in suburbs outside the city Measles, TB – all life threatening Life expectancy was 40yr old

Skilled workers People were trained in certain skills Eg carpenters, bricklayers Belfast best place for skilled workers Why? Many big shipyards and engineering works Not many of these in Dublin

Houses of skilled workers Houses of skilled workers – 1900 Lived in 2-up, 2-down houses in terraces 2 upstairs bedroom, kitchen and living downstairs Floor covered with linoleum This was warmer and easier to keep clean than stone floors Got twice as much pay as unskilled - £2 a wk Used trams to get around the city

Change in houses over the 20 th c Tenements closed down Corporation housing estates built from 1930s 2-3 rooms – electricity everywhere people moved to these when the tenements closed from 1970s people were able to afford to buy them from council growth of suburbs – suburbs moved further outside city this is called urban sprawl skilled, middle-class workers moved onto suburbs

Now price of houses shot up during Celtic Tiger People moved further away from city – only affordable houses Have to commute great distances Can do this because of new motorways Problems of suburbs The community spirit and closeness is gone Crimes, drink, drugs

Work industries developed from 1930s on 1940s (Remem Lemass) many new factories opened From 1950s IDA gave govt grants to Irish companies IDA also encouraged foreign companies to come Multinationals set up Why? Low taxes Immigrants started to come to Ireland for work