Lonely hearts ads from 1970s, thankfully things have changed!

QuiteInterestin

Came across these a few years ago when helping to clear out an old house, thought they were funny at the time so I kept the page. Just came across it again and wasn't sure what to do with it, so thought The Ladies Lounge might appreciate them. They're lonely hearts ads that appeared in the Irish Farmers' Journal, Week ending November 16, 1974. Thought some might find them funny or have some thoughts on how things have changed for women in the last 40 years. Obviously they have a farming slant since they appeared in the Farmers Journal. Have tried to reproduce them as closely as possible, grammar and spelling mistakes and all. Happy reading!

GETTING IN TOUCH

The charge for this column is 25p per notice in the adult section and 121/2p in the teenage section. All proceeds for 1974 will be donated to charity.

Adults

LONELY HEARTH: Is the owner of a large and well stocked dairy and tillage farm in West Waterford. He is aged 30 years and is a T/T and non smoker and is from a very respectable farming family. He is of average height and built and is good humoured, kindly disposed and considered good looking. Having decided to marry in the near future he desires to meet a young lady of 25 years or so who has decided to marry a farmer. She must be of respectable farming background, good humoured and good looking. Average height and build, have some farming experience. A dowry considered an asset but not a necessity. Replies with photo exchanged from only local counties. Strictly confidential.

MAN: 35 years old would like to meet a girl with view to marriage. He has his own home shop and land and is interested in cattle and shows. He shows films and likes nature study, herbs etc. He likes a quiet type of life with good cooking. R.C. He is easy to get on with. Snap please

NORTH WEST MOUNTIES: Farmer, north West Sligo 40 years, 6”tall, good family background, no commitments, non drinker and light smoker. Has about 30 acres of land, new bungalow with hot and cold running water, stock. Would like to get in touch with sincere girls aged 30 to 40 with view to marriage. Strictest confidence given and expected. Interests are listening to radio, reading, current affairs etc. Replies especially welcome from counties Sligo, Leitrim and Mayo or girls from those counties living in Dublin.

BEARD: Would like to meet a girl aged 20 to 30 with own large farm in need of managing or building up. He has a flair for horses and keeps and breeds some, also a large herd of cattle. Likes travel and showing horses. He is simple and honest and would like to meet likeable girl with view to early marriage. He is in his mid 30’s and would like to meet girls aged 25 to 35. Photo with first letter please, will be returned. Confidential.

PART TIME FARMER: and dealer, is a man with his own car, lorry and house. Would like to hear from farmers daughter or business girl view to marriage. Aged 18 to 28. He is self made in dealing with shop and farming people. He would be interested in any business that would make a living from selling. He has a sense of humour and would like to hear from girls that are attractive with own business or farm. Photo please.

ON HIS OWN: Deserted husband, returned from England some years ago. Is sincere, honest, hardworker, respectable, 28 years old 6 foot tall, dark haired, well built and is considered good looking. He has his own large modern farm, self feed silo and cattle cubicle house, tractor and machinery and a part time job. His interests include hunting and fishing, dogs and horses, and country and western music, and all outdoor sport. He is a great lover of the Irish red setter dog and keeps a lot of them. Has a separation and is waiting for an annulment in the near future. Would like to hear from girls of own age or from deserted wives or young widows with view to friendship and marriage. Please send snap in first letter. All letters answered. Replies welcome from any part of Ireland but especially from Leitrim, Sligo or Roscommon.

EASY GOING MAN: Over 30, with own home. Would like to be married. He has £25,000 tied up in livestock and land. He is quiet and lazy to a point of rushing at time as life passes by. He like to meet girls aged 20 to 32, wishing for a home and a happy life. He is not interested in anyone’s background as the future is all that matters. No objections to a girl with child. Snap please

HIGH NOON: Is aged 30, 5’10” good appearance. Has own house, good farm and own car. He is anxious to settle down and wishes to meet nice country girl aged 20 to 30 with same ambition. Farmers daughter, nurse of professional girl. Hobbies are dancing, CW music and gaelic games. Snaps appreciated and all letters answered. Only those genuinely interested in marriage should apply.

HAPPY GO LUCKY: Is a 44 year old girl. She is tall and has a good figure and is very nice looking. She loves farming and would like to hear from C of I gentleman. Photo please. All letters answered.

HOME LOVER: is sincere, respectable lady, late forties, good education, own home, small farm, good family background, and having no ties, wishes to meet sincere respectable farmer, business or professional gentleman in 50 to 60 age group. Photo appreciated and returned. Strictest confidence will be given and expected.

CO. LIMERICK: Is a farmer aged 34 years, 5’10” in height. T.T. with a medium sized farm, well stocked, car, machinery, wishes to meet a respectable farmers daughter, teacher, nurse etc with farming background with good sense of humour, T.T. and non smoker with capital farm or otherwise with view to early marriage. Genuine replies. Photo first letter. Strictest confidence given and expected. Usual interests.

Teenagers

CHICK: Is 17. Has blue eyes and is considered attractive, with slim build. Hobbies include dancing, canoeing and doing anything that is fun. Would like to correspond with any boys around 16 – 21. Photograph would be very much appreciated, and all letters will be answered.

GAY GIRL: Is 19 year old country girl. Pioneer and non smoker. Hobbies are dancing, reading and farming. She is 5’2” tall, and would like to hear from men between the ages of 20 and 24. Photos appreciated.

What to do
WRITE your reply to any of these letters, put it in an envelope, seal it: put no address on it. Now write a note to me saying to whom you want it forwarded e.g. Greesleeves. Put your note, loose stamp and sealed envelope inside another envelope and post to: “Getting in Touch”, Irish Farmers Journal, Irish Farm Centre, Bluebell, Dublin 12. Do not send money with your reply.


So, seeing as its a Saturday night, who here would turn down a man with his own self feed silo and cattle cubicle house?

krudler

"gay girl"...isn't.

MagicMarker

QuiteInterestin wrote: »

Adults

LONELY HEARTH: Is the owner of a large and well stocked dairy and tillage farm in West Waterford. He is aged 30 years and is a T/T and non smoker and is from a very respectable farming family. He is of average height and built and is good humoured, kindly disposed and considered good looking. Having decided to marry in the near future he desires to meet a young lady of 25 years or so who has decided to marry a farmer. She must be of respectable farming background, good humoured and good looking. Average height and build, have some farming experience. A dowry considered an asset but not a necessity. Replies with photo exchanged from only local counties. Strictly confidential.

A dowry? In the 70s!!?

Bloody hell.

krudler

MagicMarker wrote: »

A dowry? In the 70s!!?

Bloody hell.

would have been around rural Ireland around then, and probably after that?

Acoshla

Ehh...my friend just got engaged last week and her parents are talking about giving her husband a dowry... :eek:

Kat1170

krudler wrote: »

"gay girl"...isn't.

1974 country girl .. .. .. . gay = happy ???

krudler

Acoshla wrote: »

Ehh...my friend just got engaged last week and her parents are talking about giving her husband a dowry... :eek:

Really? didn't think that would still be around.

Acoshla

krudler wrote: »

Really? didn't think that would still be around.

She's as gobsmacked as the rest of us, told them to STFU but they seem to think it's the "right" thing to do. Weird, but then, they are.

confusticated

I'd love to know if any of them met anyone as a result of the ads.

iguana

That gay girl ad really threw me. I was actually sitting here thinking, 'wow, I'd never have imagined rural Ireland in the mid-70s was so liberal.'

iguana

iguana wrote: »

That gay girl ad really threw me. I was actually sitting here thinking, 'wow, I'd never have imagined rural Ireland in the mid-70s was so liberal.'

snap!


dowry thing is shockin

Polloloca

I don't know now, I'd say my dad would ship me off for a couple of cows.

Thats outrageous, its kind of like, "my daughter is so terrible I feel compelled to give you compensation".

Giselle

I want the one with the 30 acres and the bungalow with hot and cold running water.

The very essence of eligibility in 70's Ireland, I'd say.

ladylost

That's quite funny. Thanks for posting. I wonder if I told guys I have a dowery would there be more interest. Where I'm from in the country I have heard ladies talking about stocking their "bottom drawer" up until recently enough. Probably still a little bit of that mindset out there

Malari

Stocking the bottom drawer? Never heard that one. Sounds like amassing a pile of masturbation and sex toys

"Snaps" is hilarious :pac: Took me a minute to figure out what that meant!

shopaholic01

confusticated wrote: »

I'd love to know if any of them met anyone as a result of the ads.

Me too! Especially the deserted husband and the 44 year old 'girl'. I doubt they had much luck in 1970's Ireland.

It would be great if we could follow up on all of these and see if they found their happy ever after.

kneemos

I like the way they were all looking for young wans.

ladylost

Malari wrote: »

Stocking the bottom drawer? Never heard that one. Sounds like amassing a pile of masturbation and sex toys

Oh no it's not that at all. It's things like nice bed linen, towels, table cloth, crockery, etc all the things a good lady housekeeper would like to have in her house.

ladylost

kneemos wrote: »

I like the way they were all looking for young wans.

Nothing has changed there!

ladylost

ladylost wrote: »

Oh no it's not that at all. It's things like nice bed linen, towels, table cloth, crockery, etc all the things a good lady housekeeper would like to have in her house.

ye, bridal trousseau i guess

shopaholic01

kneemos wrote: »

I like the way they were all looking for young wans.

They need to be young to 'breed' the heirs! Farms are to be kept in the family:p.

kneemos

shopaholic01 wrote: »

They need to be young to 'breed' the heirs! Farms are to be kept in the family:p.

Good hips

ladylost

kneemos wrote: »

Good hips

good "child bearing" hips

Jaysis that gay girl one was an awful queer ad :pac:

Malari

I know a couple of old people who'd use the word gay in the original sense. Sounds so weird! :-)

driver02

ladylost wrote: »

good "child bearing" hips

Love Honour and Obey Twas simple!!!!!!!!

QuiteInterestin

Kat1170 wrote: »

1974 country girl .. .. .. . gay = happy ???

I'm fairly certain that's the meaning the ad meant.

Couldn't get over the ones where the man was openly advertising for a women with land/business for him to take over and run, didn't even sound like it would be a partnership, he was going to be the one in charge. Can you imagine a man today putting an ad on plenty of fish etc looking for a women with her own business for him to take over and manage. Can't imagine him getting to many positive replies.

The Big Red Button

EASY GOING MAN: Over 30, with own home. Would like to be married. He has £25,000 tied up in livestock and land. He is quiet and lazy to a point of rushing at time as life passes by. He like to meet girls aged 20 to 32, wishing for a home and a happy life. He is not interested in anyone’s background as the future is all that matters. No objections to a girl with child. Snap please

This guy actually seems a little bit intriguing - I like the bit about "lazy to a point of rushing at time as life passes by" - I think you could have some fun conversations with him!

CO. LIMERICK: Is a farmer aged 34 years, 5’10” in height. T.T. with a medium sized farm, well stocked, car, machinery, wishes to meet a respectable farmers daughter, teacher, nurse etc with farming background with good sense of humour, T.T. and non smoker with capital farm or otherwise with view to early marriage. Genuine replies. Photo first letter. Strictest confidence given and expected. Usual interests.

Wow, he's not at all picky! :eek:

It's really hard to believe that these ads are from just the seventies. If I had read them without knowing, I'd have guessed maybe 1930s for most of them. It kind of makes me realise how hard it is for older relatives of mine to understand our generation's attitude to dating and marriage! Sure my uncles (elderly well-off bachelors, living in a very rural area) are mortified that, thanks to me, there's a "broken engagement" in the family ... I guess that it really was all very political back then, you were entering into a business arrangement with the person, in a way, in a lot of cases.

Also, as someone who has used online dating websites (I guess, the modern-day equivalent to these ads), I find it funny to see how most of the ads are making it clear straight away that they want marriage, and as soon as possible! Whereas, these days, I think most men/women would run a mile from someone using these ads who was talking about marriage from the start ... most people try to be so non-committal, "oh I'm just looking for fun, we'll see where it goes ..." in many cases it's genuine, but reading between the lines in some ads, it was obvious they wanted a lot more. But you'd rarely see an ad saying straight-out, like in those personal ads, "I'm looking for a wife, and she needs to fulfil all these criteria! Apply with CV, detailed family tree, your photos, and your father's bank balance!"

Acoshla

Off topic but A-wear was originally called Gay Wear, but when gay started to not mean happy anymore they changed it.

what does T.T. mean

shopaholic01

bluewolf wrote: »

what does T.T. mean

Tee-totaller. Probably a good catholic pioneer!

actuallylike

Has blue eyes and is considered attractive

Considered? She's considered attractive? Sounds like she looks like an arse.

byhookorbycrook

Ads in the Farmer's Journal still similar enough to some of those.

kneemos

Divorce is a big issue amongst farmers,if they break up they can split the farm.I wonder do mom and dad keep a close eye on who thier kids are "courting"they could be marrying into a sizable fortune in some cases,would'nt want any goldiggers.

Ah_Yeah

My grandmother reads "Ireland's Own", and tbh the ads in there still look like these.

Although most of them are looking for companionship more than dowries, marriage, and young wans. It's all older people looking for the chats.

Sea Filly

Reading that makes me glad I didn't grow up in the 70s, or earlier.

I felt stifled enough growing up in a small town (actually about 5k outside the town in the countryside) as an 80s/90s child, 90s/00s teenager, can't imagine what it would have been like earlier than that. Claustrophobic stuff I feel quite depressed for a lot of the people in the OP. Many would be tied to that life. Of course some probably enjoyed farming but it must have made meeting people hard.

Sea Filly

Malari wrote: »

"Snaps" is hilarious :pac: Took me a minute to figure out what that meant!

Enlighten me.

Rovi

Sea Filly wrote: »

Enlighten me.

Snaps = photographs

Ella

This thread is hilarious. Got proper belly laughs out of some of those lonely heart ads

Neyite

"you had me at hot and cold running water"

:pac:

DublinWriter

I've a rake of Irish Times from about 1974 - the situations vacant sections are particularly jaw-dropping, things like 'Attractive young female needed for reception of busy office...applicants must be single', etc etc.

kneemos

DublinWriter wrote: »

I've a rake of Irish Times from about 1974 - the situations vacant sections are particularly jaw-dropping, things like 'Attractive young female needed for reception of busy office...applicants must be single', etc etc.

Not very PC but at least you knew what they were looking for.

ahnowbrowncow

kneemos wrote: »

Not very PC but at least you knew what they were looking for.

A ride?

I wonder how much things will change in the next 40 years

kneemos

ahnowbrowncow wrote: »

A ride?

I wonder how much things will change in the next 40 years

Can't even say they want a female these days.

is that cos of the "cant work if married" thing

Ambersky

bluewolf asked
is that cos of the "cant work if married" thing

As far as I know the marriage bar applied to married women only in the public service and ended in 1973 and the ad is from 1974.
Women in other sectors were allowed to work after marriage but it was expected that women even if they were doing the same work as a man would earn less than him. This was said to be necessary to protect the family as a man would be expected to be able to provide for a wife and child, or to court a woman and pay for dates etc. before they were married. A man therefor needed more money than a woman.
Average womens earnings were approx fifty five percent of average male earnings at that time. Never the less a woman earning a professional wage as a teacher, nurse, or secretary was considered a fine catch and girls doing their leaving cert that year were setting their sights high if they aspired to a profession.
Free secondary education came in 1967 so many young people looking for work in 1974 had parents with primary cert only and things were only just beginning to change.
An ad in 1974 looking for an attractive single female was just considered a normal set of requirements. Receptionists were expected to be attractive and if you were single and that also was taken to mean you had no children, you would be available for working odd hours and wouldn't have to be taking time off for your children.

By the way I was that gay girl in 1974 Horrendous.
Gay most definitely meant happy in common usage, although in the big cities like Dublin things were slowly changing and a language was developing, most often people said ho-mo-sex-ual.
If you look in the gay girls ad you will see she is looking for a fella. You had to really listen to what people were saying or you could pick things up very wrong.

ladylost

Ambersky wrote: »

By the way I was that gay girl in 1974 Horrendous.
Gay most definitely meant happy in common usage, although in the big cities like Dublin things were slowly changing and a language was developing, most often people said ho-mo-sex-ual.
If you look in the gay girls ad you will see she is looking for a fella. You had to really listen to what people were saying or you could pick things up very wrong.

Were you the person who sent in the ad?

Ambersky

Ah no sorry I didnt mean it that literally.:D
I am gay and was a teenager in 1974 trying to figure things out, thats what I meant by I was that gay girl.
But as I said I didnt use the word gay to mean sexual orientation at the time because I had never heard it used that way.
I know its hard for someone nowadays to get their heads around all this but the Gay Girl -in the ad - was looking for a fella.
She was saying she was a happy go lucky kind of girl looking for a fella. Gay = Happy go lucky in this context.
I was an actual gay girl but I wasnt looking for a fella cos I am actually gay. Get it?

kneemos

DublinWriter wrote: »

I've a rake of Irish Times from about 1974 - the situations vacant sections are particularly jaw-dropping, things like 'Attractive young female needed for reception of busy office...applicants must be single', etc etc.

Sounds like a Rose of Tralee application.

Lia_lia

These are hilarious.

Madam_X

actuallylike wrote: »

Considered? She's considered attractive? Sounds like she looks like an arse.

No it doesn't.

"I am attractive" sounds too vain and conceited (and no doubt you'd say that if it's what was written) so it's a way of toning that down.