The Life of a Road Worker, Co. Tipperary, Ireland 1968

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 มิ.ย. 2021
  • Meet a man who has spent his working life making and maintaining the roads of Tipperary.
    Michael Cleary, like his father before him, works on the roads of County Tipperary. As the county has over 1,500 miles of roads he is never short of work. While machinery has brought about some changes to his job, the brush, shovel and tar bucket are still the tools of the trade.
    Michael Cleary lives with his wife and children in the countryside near Cahir. Their eldest son Denis goes to the technical school in Cahir, and may become a carpenter when he leaves school. Denis comes from a generation with education and money. These provide him with opportunities that were unavailable to his father.
    The Cleary family go to Cahir every Saturday morning, where Michael’s wife does most of her shopping for the week ahead. She is very content with her life.
    For some people life in the country is very difficult, it is dull hard and tough, but I’m very lucky, I’ve got a lovely home a lovely family a good husband, I’m very happy.
    The world is rapidly changing and by the time Michael Cleary reaches retirement age, much of his work will be carried out by machinery. It is certain his sons will not be doing the same work that he is doing but,
    Whatever work they have, they will be very lucky if they are as half as happy and contented in theirs, as their father has been in his 50 years of work making the roads of South Tipperary.
    The ‘Rural Portrait’ series was devised by producer and director Odran Walsh. It portrays the lives of ordinary county people. The series consists of three men, a road worker, a vicar and a factory worker.
    ‘Rural Portrait: King of the Road’ was first broadcast on 23 December 1968. The reporter is Brian Cleeve.
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ความคิดเห็น • 346

  • @thelastdetail1
    @thelastdetail1 3 ปีที่แล้ว +284

    Honest hardworking people. The backbone of any real society. There was an honour and a decency in their lives and many hundreds of thousands like them that was worth gold.

    • @burntbacon7995
      @burntbacon7995 3 ปีที่แล้ว +14

      I knew many such men (and women) in my childhood and sad to say that they are almost all gone from this life.

    • @bobbyallen7977
      @bobbyallen7977 3 ปีที่แล้ว +24

      I was this way in Texas 40 years ago when people thought this type of work was for Mexicans and black Americans. I didn't give a damn because I worked hard for my living and I loved my fellow workers regardless of race or religion.I still do.No matter what we do we must give it what we have.

    • @timber8403
      @timber8403 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      and a tee totaler .,..

    • @deeppurple883
      @deeppurple883 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Donkey out sick, Irish man wanted, ☘️

    • @peterah7957
      @peterah7957 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Yet they were paid peanuts and let down by the lack of services that should of been provided

  • @kieranmcglynn1698
    @kieranmcglynn1698 3 ปีที่แล้ว +148

    That's my father, my grandfather, my uncle. Real men hard working decent human beings. Hadn't much but they were content. We don't hear about these forgotten heroes as much as we should.

    • @vandiesel300
      @vandiesel300 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      I take it your father was the lad that was going to be a carpenter, how did everything pan out for everybody?

    • @novideoshere4221
      @novideoshere4221 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Wdym forgotten heroes relax dude all he did was shovel dirt

    • @kieranmcglynn1698
      @kieranmcglynn1698 3 ปีที่แล้ว +23

      @@novideoshere4221 obviously you can't see this for what it is..pity really

    • @novideoshere4221
      @novideoshere4221 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@kieranmcglynn1698 dude he just shovel dirt and ireland was poor back than so that's what had to be done like in america and england they already had machines to do all that

    • @nmatthew7469
      @nmatthew7469 2 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      He was a great man.

  • @bluegtturbo
    @bluegtturbo 3 ปีที่แล้ว +96

    Ireland has become materially unbelievably richer than when I grew up in the 60s in the rural heart of the country.
    Like everyone around us we had no money. But I remember clearly the sense of community.
    Now everybody is rushing around busy making more money to build a bigger house. I can't help feeling we lost more than we gained.

    • @colinmurphy2214
      @colinmurphy2214 2 ปีที่แล้ว +12

      I lament the fact that I’ll never live in a society like this. The hustle and bustle of Dublin and general modern society is toxic and lonesome. We’ve become disconnected from the land and from each other. Sure it wasn’t all sunshine back then either, but it seems to have been wholesome and fulfilling.

    • @ethanpace2225
      @ethanpace2225 2 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      I’m in the USA (state of Georgia). It’s still pretty rural and the feeling is the same. I spent a little time in a small city, but I now live on the same land my grandfather farmed and don’t plan on leaving anytime soon. It’s tough work, but we can regain what we’ve lost in little ways.

    • @josefdenis3799
      @josefdenis3799 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Country doesn't really have money after only debt

    • @lonesomeStu
      @lonesomeStu 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @John Sheehan Couldn't agree more.

    • @philip.aocallaghan4602
      @philip.aocallaghan4602 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Absolutely agree. people are now obsessed with possessions, with no sense of community at all. People nowadays don't even know their neighbours

  • @rosiesharpley9011
    @rosiesharpley9011 2 ปีที่แล้ว +28

    My Mum always cooked dinner for our man when he worked near our house and it was considered a privilege to do so. He got the full works including a lovely pudding. His name was Geoff Donoghue. These workers and the Postman were held in the highest esteem . Well they were Civil Servants ??? to us and served our Community.

  • @anthonylynch3699
    @anthonylynch3699 3 ปีที่แล้ว +64

    My home town of Cahir, The Galtee Inn and Kennedys butchers are still there today. God be with the days.

    • @nmatthew7469
      @nmatthew7469 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Glad to hear that, God bless your town.

  • @g-dcomplex1609
    @g-dcomplex1609 2 ปีที่แล้ว +20

    3:58
    "i've got a lovely home, a lovely family, a good husband, i'm very happy"
    now how often does any of us hear such loving and appreciative words?

    • @russellking9762
      @russellking9762 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      she genuinely meant every word of it too God Bless Her…today a woman could be married to a good man who has given her 20x more and still not be happy…in fact resent him underneath..sad but true

    • @Lar308
      @Lar308 3 หลายเดือนก่อน

      She sure doesn't look happy?

  • @basichistory
    @basichistory 3 ปีที่แล้ว +45

    A hard working man and his family worth their weight in gold.

  • @moley212008
    @moley212008 2 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    Contentment, is perhaps the greatest gift.

  • @markcantemail8018
    @markcantemail8018 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    Michael Is Happy in his work because no body told him he Had to wear an Orange Vest and P P E . So refreshing to be able to get right to Work . I am proud of you !

  • @animallover19581
    @animallover19581 3 ปีที่แล้ว +50

    That 15 year old is now 68..wonder did he become a carpenter. They seem the perfect family happy, contented, and comfortable. They were upwardly mobile in 1968 very few cottiers ( as I was ) had a pony and tub trap back then. A donkey and cart was the usual mode of transport if you were lucky. With a cow and a big garden on the acre plot and a shed full of turf. Simple happy days .Just 3 children was also unusual. Yeah a great family hope it continued so blissful for them.

  • @danhealy3261
    @danhealy3261 3 ปีที่แล้ว +72

    A man is rich in proportion to what he can do without

    • @Jesse__H
      @Jesse__H 3 ปีที่แล้ว +18

      Amen. With frugality comes the happiness of NOT having things.

    • @natmol1595
      @natmol1595 3 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      @@Jesse__H absolutely !!
      Happiness is a state of mind ❤
      How many speed boats can one own anyway? 😉😆

    • @philiplevins6702
      @philiplevins6702 3 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      indeed Dan...'less is more'...my family are from farming stock in Co.Louth....had the very best of times back in Ireland

  • @jimbanda
    @jimbanda 3 ปีที่แล้ว +45

    I have a faint memory of these type of workers , hard working , arriving by bike early in the morning and spending the day "side dressing" the roads and drains. it was snow ,hail , rain or wind same thing keep working.
    Satisfaction and contentment in their work and lives.
    I salute them with all my heart ❤️

  • @ogstopper
    @ogstopper 3 ปีที่แล้ว +90

    The Ireland of my childhood. They were happy days.

    • @brianbirish
      @brianbirish 3 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      In so many,many ways..........

    • @bobbyallen7977
      @bobbyallen7977 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      I absolutely love the Irish ways and culture.Im an American so that makes me a mutt but my DNA tells me that I'm very Irish but I m Anglo for the rest.l would like to visit Eire before I go.Its beautiful.

    • @jasonlofgan66
      @jasonlofgan66 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      In the town I loved so well

    • @Alphae21
      @Alphae21 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@jasonlofgan66 you should come over

    • @jasonlofgan66
      @jasonlofgan66 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@Alphae21 I've been to Ireland twice, will be there again once the silly covid rules are gone 🤞👍

  • @natmol1595
    @natmol1595 3 ปีที่แล้ว +28

    My Uncle Bill Moloney used to say, ' so many great workers in their graves...but you never see a grave stone that says he / she was a great worker' ❤

    • @wilfredwilde9559
      @wilfredwilde9559 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      That’s for sure .I counted all the local people who have passed I knew growing up in the eighties in Ireland and it was nearly a hundred.Now in London I know about five people but I’m used to it .
      I’m glad I grew up where I did .Those little hammers for breaking stones were up on a shelf in a shed at our place .Over a century old .Long gone now ,taken by one of my fathers “ friends”.
      I would love to have met my great grandparents.

    • @finolaomurchu8217
      @finolaomurchu8217 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@wilfredwilde9559 Those old tools, when you feel the worn by hard work, wooden handle, it is a type of treasure.

  • @animallover19581
    @animallover19581 3 ปีที่แล้ว +24

    Funny only the other day I passed a Council truck filling potholes. This was a high tech bit of kit . The driver sat in his air conditioned cab he can operate a boom or arm to fill the potholes. A one man operation. Amazing technology.
    I was thinking that I can remember 3 or 4 men with a pony and cart , barell of tar and chips filling the potholes. Christ I have seen some changes. Must be getting old. So much admiration for men like Michael who toiled out in all weathers., and still were happy.

  • @richgouette
    @richgouette 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    Yet another fascinating peek into the lives of a beautiful people of face and soul..

  • @j.b.4340
    @j.b.4340 3 ปีที่แล้ว +22

    This was a beautiful film.

  • @danbreen6946
    @danbreen6946 3 ปีที่แล้ว +22

    Such A Hard Working Family Man Who Seemed To Love His Job How Life Has Changed

  • @peternall6566
    @peternall6566 3 ปีที่แล้ว +11

    When you are a grafter and your getting stuck into your job,
    you tend to zone out and and as a result are in a semi meditative state.
    When you are in that place you cant be nothing but happy.
    Be happy everyone 🙏🌼😉

  • @rapido2963
    @rapido2963 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    I find that I not only have to dodge the potholes in our crappy roads, but also the repairs as well!

  • @TheMangoDeluxe
    @TheMangoDeluxe 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    'prices are going up all the time' - you said it sister

  • @donalfinn4205
    @donalfinn4205 2 ปีที่แล้ว +20

    An absolutely brilliant video. I remember seeing lone Council workers tipping away by themselves over several days in one particular spot. His food and canteen tied up on his bike and out in all weathers. God bless them. The Engineer could make it hard or easy for them depending on who they were. These workmen were good, wholesome, decent men. Most of them anyway. Brian Cleeve was the reporter. He made great films. I think RTE got rid of him because they didn’t like the sound of his voice. I loved his films.

    • @shaun5944
      @shaun5944 ปีที่แล้ว

      Thank you for the information Donal 👍👋

  • @gerry6420
    @gerry6420 3 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Different times. People had nothing. The basics. And were 1000 times happier then people today

  • @johnallen7807
    @johnallen7807 3 ปีที่แล้ว +53

    Today I feel we know the price of everything but the value of nothing.

    • @philleeson7835
      @philleeson7835 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      A saying I had for my old boss,"penny wise and pound poor"was another we used to say about him

    • @russellking9762
      @russellking9762 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Well spoken sir…..can i use that if that’s ok with you

    • @johnallen7807
      @johnallen7807 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@russellking9762 Yes, of course, it wasn't my original quote anyway but it seemed appropriate.

    • @russellking9762
      @russellking9762 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      fair play to ya

  • @inspectec
    @inspectec 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    He and his wife worked hard to rear their family. Nothing fancy in life but they seem content. Decent hardworking people, the backbone of all civilisation.

  • @peterah7957
    @peterah7957 3 ปีที่แล้ว +14

    I respect that guy so much!

  • @CycleAlong
    @CycleAlong 3 ปีที่แล้ว +34

    At least they were able to afford a house! I'm jealous of them

    • @DianeD862
      @DianeD862 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Your right about that think you still work hard .You have long days. You've got my admiration.All Farmer's Keep calm .💚💚💚💯💚💚💚💚💚💚

    • @onepalproductions
      @onepalproductions 3 ปีที่แล้ว +17

      People could afford a family house from a single wage at that time, yet today people believe they're better off.

    • @ringorolden2994
      @ringorolden2994 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@onepalproductions central banks and inflation. Fed reserve off gold standard 1971. Banks also stopped fractional reserve lending. Led to hyperinflation esp property last 40yrs. Throw in good exchange rates in EU- uk- usa large foreign billionaires+ companies by vast chunks to rent out and make on exchange rate. It fvks over ord person so ruling elites gain.

    • @daveh6151
      @daveh6151 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      Well it probably took a few generations to own it

    • @CycleAlong
      @CycleAlong 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@believingregardlessforever to be fair a house cost all of 2-3 times their annual wage as an unskilled, uneducated road worker

  • @michaelkeating7380
    @michaelkeating7380 3 ปีที่แล้ว +51

    The context of this documentary, which would have been obvious to Irish viewers in 1968, was the expected social impact of recently introduced free secondary education for all.

    • @merocaine
      @merocaine 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Thank you for pointing the context out, the closing monologue makes much more sense now.

    • @duskeyowl2507
      @duskeyowl2507 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      3 decades behind most countries

  • @christophersimon8339
    @christophersimon8339 3 ปีที่แล้ว +185

    This just shows there was always some twat with a clipboard and a car telling you that you can't do your job without actually doing it themselves. It's 2021 and it's still happening

    • @grahambamford9073
      @grahambamford9073 3 ปีที่แล้ว +21

      He got 95% on his last job and the "twat" said that was "quite" good. He's not checking up on him, but he stops his car, gets out, with official documentation and a pen and checks on him.....???

    • @michaelkeating7380
      @michaelkeating7380 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      ...you mean keyboard...

    • @mike8631
      @mike8631 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Yeh, and always some absolute gobshite who thinks the fella with the shovel could do it all himself too. Ah yeh, you can always tell the lads who weren't clever enough to do anything but physical labour, they carry that chip with them till the day they die.

    • @seniorelzappo9919
      @seniorelzappo9919 3 ปีที่แล้ว +13

      But now the clipboards outnumber the shovels 3 to 1 ..

    • @mike8631
      @mike8631 3 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      @@seniorelzappo9919 Because the guys with the clipboards were clever enough to invent machines to do the work faster and with less sick days :)

  • @view1st
    @view1st 3 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    This video gives us an interesting insight into a world that is now gone.

  • @Discover-Ireland
    @Discover-Ireland 3 ปีที่แล้ว +29

    The men that made Eire ☘️

    • @philleeson7835
      @philleeson7835 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      And most of England. we'd be buggered without the road gangs from the emerald isle

  • @sittinginthebasement
    @sittinginthebasement 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    My g-grandfather was from southern Tipperary, born near Clonmel. It's lovely to hear those sweet, lyrical accents and imagine that's my g-grand sounded. My g-grandmother was born on the Galway/Roscommon and I have spoken to cousins from there--those accents seem a little thicker to my American ears than those in Tipperary.

  • @missadda8890
    @missadda8890 3 ปีที่แล้ว +59

    Good luck finding a woman that would be happy and content with so little nowadays,reminds me of all my uncles and aunts in Cork in the 60s the minute the women got married they quit their jobs and became housewives,everything inside the house was my mothers dept(cooking,cleaning,child rearing,budgeting etc) and everything outside(house, car maintenance and most of all the income )was my fathers dept,it worked very well they were happily married over 50 years and had a great social life with neighbours,friends and family and that was the key in my opinion.

    • @dellhell8842
      @dellhell8842 3 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      For many women, giving up a job outside the home wasn't voluntary. Women who worked anywhere in the public service (except teaching where there was a shortage) had no choice but to give up their jobs when they married. The married woman ban was only lifted in 1973, 50 years after it's introduction.

    • @disprogreavette8545
      @disprogreavette8545 3 ปีที่แล้ว +13

      From the looks of there won't be more than a handful of 50 year marriages from my generation or my childrens. My parents hit 62 years this year and I'm on 24 but many of my friends are divorced (or on their second) and many from my kids genration aren't interested in marriage. Times really have changed, greetings from the Canadian bush.

    • @dougtheviking6503
      @dougtheviking6503 3 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      My parents didn't have much when I was young . Now here I am with alot for my kids and the family. It's just a bunch of shit . Doesn't make me happy at all .

    • @dellhell8842
      @dellhell8842 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@disprogreavette8545 Same here in Ireland. We're 30 years married but many relatives and friends haven't made it that far. Average age of people marrying in Ireland now is 36/35 for men/women.

  • @joelarkin4268
    @joelarkin4268 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    I love the videos of Ireland 🇮🇪☘️☘️☘️🌈

  • @brigitnunez6735
    @brigitnunez6735 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    An excellent video. Love it so much. Thank you so much for sharing.

  • @theroadrunner600
    @theroadrunner600 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Only difference between now and then is that today for every 1 man working on road there is 6 other men standing watching him

  • @minisla
    @minisla 3 ปีที่แล้ว +30

    Never knew they used to cap stone walls with sods of grass. Interesting

    • @exb.r.buckeyeman845
      @exb.r.buckeyeman845 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Yes we do here in Cornwall, the grass grows and the roots “tie in”the stones.

  • @anoshya
    @anoshya 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    My wife’s grandfather would fill the potholes in the 50s and come home drenched in rain and would sit by the fire with steam pouring out of his clothes. Hard working people who lived simply

  • @JohnDoe-jn3es
    @JohnDoe-jn3es 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    What a treat watching how people worked lived

  • @tadghsmith1457
    @tadghsmith1457 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    He was doing incredibly well to have a contented family on a road workers salary. It would rare to see that now.

    • @markmclaughlin3896
      @markmclaughlin3896 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Road workers get more money than office workers in England.If you work for an lrish contractor. As soon as an English contractor takes over they steal your breaks . Then you get work through an agency ..office boys and girls take a cut..then to be self employed ..a pay roll co. charge you 25 quid a week to get paid...

    • @georgel74
      @georgel74 ปีที่แล้ว

      I'll bet he had a 'few acres' also..

  • @silverbullet8338
    @silverbullet8338 3 ปีที่แล้ว +12

    Hard work ,never hurt anyone ! Nice to see all that old machinery.

    • @tommorrissey
      @tommorrissey 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      My auld fella’s response to that was always “ but it crippled a fair few” 😉

    • @JohnWick-stardawg
      @JohnWick-stardawg 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Lmao hard work never hurt anyone? Tell that to my back, my knees and my shoulders.

    • @botbeamer
      @botbeamer 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@JohnWick-stardawg Haha

  • @lydialily846
    @lydialily846 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    When wonderful men like those looked after the rds they were in a lot better condition than they are now , esp our secondary roads !

    • @punchy1325
      @punchy1325 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Did them lads not work hard or was it the nurses that worked on the roads

    • @lydialily846
      @lydialily846 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@punchy1325 Exactly my point about THAT generation !

    • @punchy1325
      @punchy1325 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @Lydia Lily there's been a few after them lily that's worked just as hard again open your eye's I get what your saying about this generation today but its all them nurse's to

    • @lydialily846
      @lydialily846 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@punchy1325 Ok punchy I get the point ! I’ll NEVER mention NURSES again ,, will you b ok now ?? Or should I ring a doctor for you ??? 🤣🤣👍👍

    • @punchy1325
      @punchy1325 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @Lydia Lily no I prefer nurse's

  • @philipodowd227
    @philipodowd227 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Micheal Cleary,my mother grew up on a farm beside house.House corner of farm.I have a vague memory of his Father,Early 60s.They were good people of noble poverty,kept to themselves,few words but friendly.I think my Mother use to talk to his Father abt local history as he wud have been in his 40s during war of independance and civil war. The O'Sullivans lived beside them.I remember Micheal O Sullivan.Heard he died tragically pushbike accident.He was a lovely guy always smiling and singing the black velvet band ,a character.My Mother left for Dublin in 47 to work in G.P.O.I was 10 in 68 and working with my uncle around that area at the time.Their was peace and tranquility in the air back then.I remember ploughing a field with my uncle close by in 68' for John Joe Lonergan and his brother Tom at 10am having plough the headland we came in for breakfast and Tom took a massive heart attack,died.Born1910I can still remember his conversation just before he passed on about old treshin machines and the modern machinery of today.That incident had a dramatic effect on me.I got panic attacks after it of which no one knew anything about at the time.Still get the odd panic attack but had a good life over all and good memories of loughloher,its people,peace and lifestyle.

  • @brede6904
    @brede6904 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I was born on a farm near kilteely co Limerick ; I was the youngest of 10 children; we still milked by hand up on tell 1984; been in Australia now for 30 years; God do I remember these days The old people were beautiful they would always feed you when you worked on there farm ☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️

  • @matthewfarmer6830
    @matthewfarmer6830 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Nice documentary, keep them coming. 😊

  • @MariaMartinez-kg6ns
    @MariaMartinez-kg6ns 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Thank you a lot it a beautiful video god bless

  • @nervesinapattern7261
    @nervesinapattern7261 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Many the breezes that blow in the spring
    Sweeter the sound that the song thrushes sing.
    I sighed for a sight that I seldom see now
    A man in the fields with his Horses & Plough

  • @georgel74
    @georgel74 3 ปีที่แล้ว +16

    The engineer was Mr Pat Keating from Ballylooby.. The car, a Ford Corsair..

    • @georgel74
      @georgel74 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @John J Kelly that describes it perfectly John. 😊

    • @dellhell8842
      @dellhell8842 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      @John J Kelly My father had a Corsair back then. Don't know about the 2.0L V4 but the 1.7L Essex V4 that was in his was hateful. A 60 degree V4 is inherently out of balance and the balancer shaft to counteract this never worked right. After several engine problems he got rid of it when the gear drive to the distributor failed.

    • @dellhell8842
      @dellhell8842 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @John J Kelly Yes it was the 2L version so. It was originally offered with the much less powerful but more reliable 1.5L Kent in-line four cylinder engine in the cortinas. I remember my father seldom if ever used first gear on the four speed column gear shift.

    • @michaelkeating7380
      @michaelkeating7380 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Well spotted on both counts George.

    • @CillMhantainSean
      @CillMhantainSean 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@dellhell8842 I had the 1.7 V4 column change for a couple of years, ran great and very smooth too, ‘‘twas a big lazy revving lump!

  • @philipmcdonagh1094
    @philipmcdonagh1094 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    The Overseer could be around, sounds like something out of a fantasy film. But nothing changes along comes a manager, and what happens, the work stops.

  • @danielosullivan3110
    @danielosullivan3110 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Grandad used to say"no two go crazy the same way"🤪☘️

  • @damianmoore8147
    @damianmoore8147 3 ปีที่แล้ว +12

    Sadly these people are long gone from our toxic society.

    • @Alphae21
      @Alphae21 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      not true

  • @natmol1595
    @natmol1595 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Boy that shovel was awfully sharp❤👍

  • @seamusnolan4083
    @seamusnolan4083 3 ปีที่แล้ว +21

    The old saying goes "an ounce a breeding is worth a ton a feeding

  • @freebornjohn2687
    @freebornjohn2687 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    The sound of the horse and trap is wonderful.

  • @Lionofjuda957
    @Lionofjuda957 ปีที่แล้ว

    Went to Ballydaly near Millstreet 1970 to were my Family are from, great people and I loved it there. If there was work I would have moved there....God Bless the Geran and Guerin families

  • @animallover19581
    @animallover19581 3 ปีที่แล้ว +11

    A long time since I heard someone been called Sir. Says a lot about that man.

    • @robwilde855
      @robwilde855 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Every time you are arrested they call you 'Sir'. Or they should do. Perhaps you're not from Britain?

    • @eamonward9036
      @eamonward9036 3 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      Lord rest my mum she said that to say please and thank cost noting to say

  • @kellanhills1972
    @kellanhills1972 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I used to do work like this in high school and summers. Thank God I went to college. 😅😅

  • @kevindenogla783
    @kevindenogla783 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Engineer is just passing, proceeds to take out a clipboard and check worksheet and record the work being done.

    • @seanohare5488
      @seanohare5488 ปีที่แล้ว

      He looks useless in what he does compare to the man actually doing work

  • @ukcitizen5341
    @ukcitizen5341 3 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    the engineer must have good eyesight to see through those glasses

  • @frankmlchaelglasscock6539
    @frankmlchaelglasscock6539 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    They where better days but hard days and the people were lovely

  • @youhavetoagree893
    @youhavetoagree893 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Appreciate the videos 👍👍

  • @crappymeal
    @crappymeal 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    we are still digging timber frame tunnels in central London in 2022, no machine yet

  • @jimmacmahon1030
    @jimmacmahon1030 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    I wonder if Demis went on to become a carpenter like his mother had hoped

  • @TheLRider
    @TheLRider 3 ปีที่แล้ว +20

    My Dad was a lengthman back in the 1950s in West Wales. I still have his siccle and long shaft spade. Went through hell and back in Normandy during WWII and farmers used to take the piss, the ones who were safely tucked up on the farm during WWII
    He'd be out in all weather's and come home soaked to the skin because if he stopped to shelter those same farmers would report him. I hate the btards just as much as my Dad did..

    • @burntbacon7995
      @burntbacon7995 3 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      My Uncle Christy left his job in Ireland to volunteer in the British Army in 1939 to fight the Nazi. Christy never returned to live in Ireland after World War Two because of his service in the British Army because he would have been an object of hatred.

    • @TheLRider
      @TheLRider 3 ปีที่แล้ว +11

      @@burntbacon7995 I can understand totally. My Dad didn't volunteer and neither did 90% of British Troops. They were all conscripted unlike the romantic crap put out in WWII films etc. My Dad hated Churchill because of the way they were treated during and after the war and that wave of returning soldiers gave rise to the massive landslide General Election victory for a Labour Govt. The Tories of today have whitewashed that piece of history out of people's memories and beliefs.

    • @johngilmore6688
      @johngilmore6688 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@burntbacon7995
      Oh yes, WW2, DeValera called it, the emergency!!"
      To EVERYONE else, it was a world war.
      Many brave Irishmen joined every other English speaking nation on the planet, to fight Hitler, except for DeValera & co's Eire.

    • @russellking9762
      @russellking9762 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Question: i mean no disrespect..but what is a lengthman? i am from New Zealand and i have never heard the term

    • @TheLRider
      @TheLRider 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@russellking9762 Ha ha, a term that has gone out of fashion!! He had a length of country roads in our locality to look after. Dig/clear roadside ditches, cut and trim the banks and hedges, all with a sickle, pick litter, not that there was much then. Sweep the roads of mud or debris left by the odd storm/ tractor. Just keep the place looking safe, and tidy; a joy to behold. But then he'd keep an eye in the autumn for male salmon coming up stream to mate with a female salmon my dad would have spotted under a bridge over a little stream. He'd go back at night and pull the male out, never the female. That was tea for the next day or two for the family!! He'd sometime go back in a day or two to see if there was another male to be had and so he'd provide a treat for some local poor people and even the local minister 😋😋 He was also a keen environmentalist and would act as a local tourist guide for the odd visitor that woul be driving/walking along his lanes.. We need them back definitely imo..

  • @richardgiles2484
    @richardgiles2484 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Very hard times back then. But I think much safer and happier times for most as the world was a nicer place than it is now 🤔

  • @anthonygebala1198
    @anthonygebala1198 3 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    Proper work, not like now people sitting and staring at a stupid screen for hours on end what have we become!

  • @charlestaylor8566
    @charlestaylor8566 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Remember when I was about 5 or 6 , we used ride up in the cab of the forestry commission lorries when they were making the forest roads , sometimes 3 off us kids in one truck , not a chance of that happening today . Happy days !

    • @johnbarry4562
      @johnbarry4562 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      Charles Taylor .... get hold of David Cuddy on TH-cam !! He'll help you get another and newer memory of those times ... Whole family are decent people

    • @charlestaylor8566
      @charlestaylor8566 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@johnbarry4562 Interesting guy , but I’m talking about 40 years before , late fifties when I was about five or six , watched trees growing my father planted and was cutting them down in the early 70s , dragging with a horse , loading lorries by hand , hard work . And now the sons off the guy I worked for have probably the biggest outfit in timber harvesting in the country , Treetop Harvesting , agents for Tigercat machines .

    • @johnbarry4562
      @johnbarry4562 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@charlestaylor8566 aah so the memory can be activated still .... That's the best outcome that one could wish for ...On a slight tangent ?; There was a local farmer died during the past week ...He was a big strong man who was doing agricultural contracting when few were ... When I was young I developed a sort of fantastical respect for the man ...I cannot get around the fact that he's dead , but as long as his house and farm stay going , his "presence" is alive as far as I'm concerned ....All these people are with us , as long as we allow them to .... Keep the faith

  • @8nansky528
    @8nansky528 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    I ADORE READING

  • @mrheck5311
    @mrheck5311 3 ปีที่แล้ว +41

    These days you'd need all kinds of certificates to do that, directed by some civil servants in dublin.

    • @charlestaylor8566
      @charlestaylor8566 3 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      Remember when the council had men do a big round with a bicycle and spade cleaning all the offlets to let the water off the road , now we have legions of council ……well I don’t know what you would call them , but they drive around in newish van and pickups doing bugger all .the council are all always pleading poverty , but it’s how the spend .. sorry waste , squander is better words than spend that is the problem .

    • @mikeOnTheChoob
      @mikeOnTheChoob 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@charlestaylor8566 you'd prefer the old days with backs broken from labouring? And the councils didn't plead poverty? Let me try on those rose coloured glasses for a minute.

    • @charlestaylor8566
      @charlestaylor8566 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      @@mikeOnTheChoob No they didn’t back then , I’m talking about now , to pay for the legions of useless buggers doing nothing instead of men on the ground , I see every day with the council yard beside where I live , money just squandered , back in those days the workers went straight from there homes to the job they were doing . Now they have to go to the yard and get told what to do , fill as much useless bit of paper , risk assessment crap , and they still make a total balls of everything , and no I don’t have rose coloured glasses , the work was hard , but not near.as hard as some jobs , ie forestry , farm work , building , mines , they were much harder than any council job , apart from the mines I did the rest so I do know what real hard work was .

  • @warwickmalone5808
    @warwickmalone5808 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    He's worn the tip of the shovel away. My old man had one like it.

  • @noelmaher4633
    @noelmaher4633 3 ปีที่แล้ว +13

    "Maybe Michael and his wife are too easily satisfied" not much has changed in IE, know your place..#RTE.

  • @disprogreavette8545
    @disprogreavette8545 3 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    3:28 dodging the road apples

  • @gilwillia
    @gilwillia 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Not checking on him, but definitely checking on him. 😂

  • @johncarroll9986
    @johncarroll9986 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Great men at the time

  • @jch2211
    @jch2211 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Looks a better way of life than today.

  • @cyberzeroday
    @cyberzeroday 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Looks like the road in by the golf club and later back out to ballylooby. WELL !!

  • @ClaudioBenassi
    @ClaudioBenassi 3 ปีที่แล้ว +12

    My grandpa did this for a living. He was a sailor before. Should you fight for more? I don’t know. We are all tempted to do so.

  • @sayitloudlynothing5406
    @sayitloudlynothing5406 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    They say they are happy... but good god people, smile a little if you're happy. I need to go see a doctor for some anti depressants after watching this

    • @annehebert510
      @annehebert510 ปีที่แล้ว

      Lol, they're not American. It is possible to feel happy without having to show your teeth all the time.

  • @philipdee9698
    @philipdee9698 2 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    Oh yeah...this really strikes a chord with me. Wonderful video and really says so much not just about our rural society in1968 but about today also. People today have so much by comparison but are so unhappy despite this. Yes life was hard then...and fifty years before was harder still. Yet for all our material wealth, our social welfare supports and endless demands on government to do more and more, people are actually a lot less happy now. I'm not saying for one minute that Ireland fifty odd years ago was perfect, far from it, but the unbelievable rise in the standard of living has not made people happier. Why is that I wonder? I'm the youngest of 12 and dad was just like the main the video...and mother worked endlessly in the home. There was never any money around, always a couple of weeks behind at the local shop in the village but almost everyone was in the same situation. Bills somehow got paid, we all got jobs and made our own way in life either here or (sadly) abroad, but we never forgot our roots nor the simple dignity of honest parents. They were great men and women.

    • @inspectec
      @inspectec 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Well said sir. As a country we've lost our way.

    • @wilfredwilde9559
      @wilfredwilde9559 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      People today just can’t get their heads around the fact that “ nobody had money “ back then .JFK came to limerick and my father’s friends stopped at our house to give him a lift into town to see the motorcade pass through.He told me how much he wanted to go but just had no money to buy his friends back a drink etc so he stayed at home .

  • @fordford9133
    @fordford9133 3 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    When times were beautiful

    • @russellking9762
      @russellking9762 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Exactly…Honesty Respect Hard work Character Loyalty and Contentment…it’s all here in this clip…those are the things that we are missing today..things you can not buy or hold in your hand or even touch….more precious than gold…it’s those things that kept that generation of people and the ones before on track like a compass needle and they lived it and breathed it…they never wavered…what happened to us as a society?

  • @noreensharkey16
    @noreensharkey16 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    impressive machinery for the year 1968

  • @vyl4650
    @vyl4650 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    I find the amount of romance and nostalgia in the comments section simply astonishing. Life was simpler back then, thats for sure, but neither easier nor were the people nicer. All those people seem nice in these documentaries but who wouldn't?

    • @phillipecook3227
      @phillipecook3227 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Nostalgia isn't what it used to be ....

    • @russellking9762
      @russellking9762 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      the people were definitely nicer…the shop service was proper and polite for one thing…people behind the counter couldn’t do enough for you…and they knew their product inside and out…at the petrol station you wouldn’t get out of your car..the attendant would put the petrol in for you..top up your oil and wipe down your windscreen..you give him the money and he would bring back your change..thats how it was

  • @lindsayyoung5424
    @lindsayyoung5424 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    I can't believe they did this without any frigin road cones..... Jesus man you need frigin cones

    • @seanohare5488
      @seanohare5488 ปีที่แล้ว

      True many back then must have been killed or injured without the safety cones

  • @JaggersLips
    @JaggersLips 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Those before us paved the way

  • @SeanT649
    @SeanT649 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    They don't make men like Michael anymore and we are weaker for it.

  • @trevormcshane4986
    @trevormcshane4986 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Great video,, the good old days not like now ,,, ,,,some people just don't want to work,, sad

  • @colinmelling6369
    @colinmelling6369 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Good old days of common sense. No miles of road closures , traffic lights , and an hi viz army causing chaos. Oh and 6 people with clip boards looking into holes.

  • @kwaichangcaine8234
    @kwaichangcaine8234 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    yeah the slash hook and the pick and shovel were the tools of my uncle Teddy working on the counsel back in those very days.

  • @nmatthew7469
    @nmatthew7469 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I understand Michael and his wife.

  • @charliejlavery
    @charliejlavery 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    The shovel at the start wore flat, seen some graft.

  • @joewilson3575
    @joewilson3575 3 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    The last horse and cart will be a museum piece in ten years eh?

    • @michaelb634
      @michaelb634 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Not in finglas thank god

    • @joewilson3575
      @joewilson3575 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@michaelb634 Must have been only a few years after this film was recorded but they've only been getting more and more common since

    • @michaelb634
      @michaelb634 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@joewilson3575 it's now a tradition and a pass time but it does still continue. Its unfortunate to see some lads being careless with their horses and carts/traps/sulkys, gives the wrong impression about the 99% who are deeply passionate about it and put in so much work to keep it going.

    • @phillipecook3227
      @phillipecook3227 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      In road building. That's what the commentator was talking about.

  • @mizzyroro
    @mizzyroro 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Chances you say? His son will have education and money and get chances? In 2009 in a hostel un New York city, I met a young lad who was an engineer from Ireland on a 3 month visa looking for work because he couldn't find a job in Ireland. The great Irish migration still continues.

  • @givemeabreak7273
    @givemeabreak7273 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    its all ways a dance with the Irish we are wonderful dancers

  • @tomtd
    @tomtd 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    The dignity of honest work. Not much of that in a call centre.

  • @MrWhothefoxthat
    @MrWhothefoxthat ปีที่แล้ว

    i did my stint of dry stone walling for the council over the Woodhead road in the UK, i go across it now 50 years later and thieve been knocked down by cars and trucks, and shit everywhere.

  • @jamiedoyle7625
    @jamiedoyle7625 3 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Beautiful simple times, every one nowadays trying to keep up with the jones and shite down on top you , tho we will all go into the same hole

  • @Del-yv1qy
    @Del-yv1qy 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    "Is it right to be happy with so little"

  • @davidroman1342
    @davidroman1342 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    I thought please hit the clipboard man with shovel. Lmao. Honest hardworking people. That was hard work then. Not like today. They cry today if they work more than a couple hours.👍

    • @seanohare5488
      @seanohare5488 ปีที่แล้ว

      I had the same thought the clipboard guy looked more phoney useless compare to the guy doing real work

  • @lallyoisin
    @lallyoisin 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    As long as everybody knows what they have to do!

  • @paulthomas3841
    @paulthomas3841 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    I could see Males doing that these days ! !, 2021, my Dad used to lay Tarmac in the 1960s