Shamrock Express booklet
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Booklet on moving to England, entitled ‘The Shamrock Express’ by Father Eamonn Gaynor, published by the Furrow Trust, Maynooth in 1962. Father Gaynor spent two years working as chaplain to hundreds of Irish workers on a building site in the Midlands of England. Drawing on his experience of working with Irish immigrants, he wrote a guidebook for people moving from Ireland to Britain in the 1960s.
In chapter one, entitled ‘Going Over’, Father Gaynor advises emigrants ‘Don’t go unless, unfortunately, you must. You have all my sympathy.’ He makes practical recommendations such a securing accommodation and a job before leaving Ireland, avoiding cheap digs and saving money.
In chapter two, entitled ‘An Irishman in Britain’, he advises on conduct, stating ‘Moderation of language on your part, sobriety, a peaceful and friendly disposition, all will help’. He writes about citizenship, recommending that immigrants take ‘at least an intelligent interest’ in British politics, play their part in the various societies of British life, social and otherwise, join trade unions and do what they can to promote the welfare of others, ‘without regard to their race or religion’.
In chapter three, entitled ‘A Catholic in Britain’, he warns, ‘You are leaving a country where the light of the Christian way-of-life shines clearly and are entering the darkness and confusion of twentieth-century materialism (…) You will soon feel the attraction of the deadly materialism of modern life, perhaps for the first time.’ He recommends finding different digs if the landlady will not serve fish on a Friday, and writes ‘avoid a mixed marriage’.
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