Dublin Tenement Life: An Oral History

Dublin Tenement Life is one of the great books about the Irish capital. From first hardback publication it was recognised as an instant classic and was a huge critical and commercial success. It is now re-issued in small-format paperback. This book is totally unique. It is based on the original and wholly authentic testimonies of survivors of the old Dublin tenements. For nearly 150 years, the wretched, squalid tenements of Dublin were widely judged to be the worst slums in all of Europe. By the 1930's, 6400 tenements were occupied by almost 112,000 tenants. Some districts had up to 800 people to the acre, up to 100 occupants in one building and twenty family members crammed into a single tiny room. It was a hard world of hunger, disease, high mortality, unemployment, heavy drinking, prostitution and gang warfare. But despite their hardship, the tenement poor enjoyed an incredibly close knit community life in which they found great security and indeed, happiness. As one policeman recalls from over half a century ago, they were 'extraordinarily happy for people who were so savagely poor'.