Publisher's Synopsis
"An Irish Immigrant by Peter Williamson" This book tells the story of an Irish boy's upbringing in a small town in the border region of Monaghan and his eventual embarkation to 'the mainland' as part of the mass economic migration of the Irish people in the 1950s. It's a tale vividly told - of Irish small town life with news criers and brutal schooling, to the boardinghouse 'rock n roll paddy' era of Hammersmith and 'County Kilburn'. The apprehension of leaving home and the culture shock of being on the receiving end of the English racism of the time (pubs would post signs 'No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs') is evoked in a way that will be recognised by so many as typical. I recommend the book as a valuable addition to 'diaspora literature' in general, not just to those of Irish descent (who now count as 10% of the English population). The generation that Peter Williamson represents is in its maturity and their stories and experiences as economic migrants to England need to be... More > recorded. But more than that, the book is packed with generous anecdotes; often amusing but some also harrowing and filled with the terror of an uncertain future accompanied by dire poverty. The book ends with Williamson's experiences of being drafted in to the army to fight in Cyprus.
