The 70's and 80's in Ireland

Kermit.de.frog

What was it like in the 1980's in Ireland?

I have seen pictures, video and my god it looked like a depressing place. :eek:

Grey, delapidated, hopeless.

What was it like? How did you get by without internets, wheelie bins, toilets...?

Would you go back if you could??

*Might as well throw in the 70's too for people of that vintage.

Jimmy.

The pull out method was all the rage.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Both decades were, to my experience, marked by high unemployment and high interest rates.


I wouldn't go back to them for any reason.

savemejebus

Good things tasted better

banie01

We all had great laughs avoiding the consumption.
Fitness levels were great in the young.
We all ran like lunatics to avoid being ridden by clergy!
Look at the decline in Irish middle distance running since the veil was lifted on paedo priests!

Renault 4s and Ford escorts were the common.
A Sierra Cosworth was a "Super car"
And only "posh" neighbours had a car and a house phone!
To this day, I know my childhood next door neighbours phone number.
Skinning orchards and drinking in fields!
The huge crush at the labour exchange when your Granda would be out of work.

What's really scary....
I saw the end of the 70's and all of the 80's
Is I'm only 38! :pac:

Well, I had a great time and surprisingly enough we go by without the internet. I associate it with the start of Ireland reflecting on its self as a nation a lot of the staried-eyed idea of the republic began to be questioned, you had series like strumpet city on the TV, and while we always had emigration it was only when middle-class emigration became an issue in the 1980s that it became a thing in the media and general discourse in society which is interesting.

Going to college was a big deal you had to have the metric and or a very good leaving cert.

Hector Bellend

I was only born in 1977.

I was a little too young to worry about interest rates and unemployment.

I was too busy trying to get a feel of Debbie Whelans arse. Thats what happens when you think with your flute.

topper75

Josiah Greasy Barefoot wrote: »

Both decades were, to my experience, marked by high unemployment and high interest rates.


I wouldn't go back to them for any reason.

I can't pretty up unemployment for anyone.

But the high rates meant little or no speculation in the housing side of things.

If you did get that job, then a house would follow. The mortgage deposit % wasn't as rigourous something like 10%. Yes the monthly repayments would be rough. But it was at least ATTAINABLE. Big difference to today.

It is pointless looking back at a historical period saying Oh they had no X like we have today. We didn't know about it back then, and what you don't know ...

An Irish CB ran the rate for the punt. It was a currency/rate for OUR economy, not for a depressed German banking sector or a roaring Parisian property market. It was ours. By us, for us.
And our politicians gave that away without ever asking us.

Silentcorner

This country will never see those kind of days again...but it was the pre celebrity culture era...and the pre social media era...we'll never see the likes those days again either...

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

topper75 wrote: »

I can't pretty up unemployment for anyone.

But the high rates meant little or no speculation in the housing side of things.

If you did get that job, then a house would follow. The mortgage deposit % wasn't as rigourous something like 10%. Yes the monthly repayments would be rough. But it was at least ATTAINABLE. Big difference to today.

It is pointless looking back at a historical period saying Oh they had no X like we have today. We didn't know about it back then, and what you don't know ...

An Irish CB ran the rate for the punt. It was a currency/rate for OUR economy, not for a depressed German banking sector or a roaring Parisian property market. It was ours. By us, for us.
And our politicians gave that away without ever asking us.

Mortgage deposit was 20% and repayments meant a huge struggle with more that a full salary in payments. In the 80s Mortgages were attainable mostly only if both spouses were working. We had two good jobs in which we were well established through this period and really struggled to pay a mortgage on a very modest home, doing without holidays, social life, and any purchases over and above the necessities - no phone, video players, a 10 year old car, etc.

Only from the 90s on did things become more obtainable.

BeerWolf

Uncomfortable, itchy wooly jumpers.

I don't miss that.

banie01

topper75 wrote: »

An Irish CB ran the rate for the punt. It was a currency/rate for OUR economy, not for a depressed German banking sector or a roaring Parisian property market. It was ours. By us, for us.
And our politicians gave that away without ever asking us.

I'd beg to differ, this would have been the Maastricht treaty referendum.
The aims and objectives of harmonisation and transfer from the ERM/ECU to a pan-european currency were voted on and accepted by the people.

Silentcorner

Lucky bags...if I'd have been on the ball I'd have sued the manufacturers!!

banie01

BeerWolf wrote: »

Uncomfortable, itchy jumpers.

I don't miss that.

I totally forgot about spending my formative years in itchy as fúck cable knit Aran jumpers and duffle coats!

RustyNut

Life before Mobile phones, feckin bliss.

Lorelli!

Kermit.de.frog wrote: »

Grey, delapidated, hopeless.

no, the 70s were full of floral and other kinds of patterns and different shades of dodgy greens and browns with an orange hue!

TheRiverman

Being hot and and horny on Saturday nights in 1975/76 in my father's Morris Minor that he was brave and trustworthy enough to give me.

70’s brought discotheques to Ireland. It was also a time of frustration because heavy petting was as far as we could safely go. Bell bottoms. Matheus Rose. The Indians.
It was a fun time. I was transitioning from a teenager to adulthood. An exciting time of love, music, leaving home, arctic roll, battered sausages, cheesecloth shirts and gypsy skirts.

All the boring stuff like marriage and kids and mortgage came in the 80’s.

smokingman

Giving out to my brothers and parents about not rewinding the vhs tapes...

SEPT 23 1989

Everything was orange and brown

mloc123

Josiah Greasy Barefoot wrote: »

Mortgage deposit was 20% and repayments meant a huge struggle with more that a full salary in payments. In the 80s Mortgages were attainable mostly only if both spouses were working. We had two good jobs in which we were well established through this period and really struggled to pay a mortgage on a very modest home, doing without holidays, social life, and any purchases over and above the necessities - no phone, video players, a 10 year old car, etc.

Only from the 90s on did things become more obtainable.

People now piss and moan about the cost of a mortgage each month. Nothing compared to the 80s (as a percentage of income)... But now they HAVE to pay that 60e a month on phone bill (to get a free iPhone), the 100e a month for broadband and TV, weekly social allowance and holiday fund.

But things were easier for their parents... Sure anyone on a modest wage could buy a red brick in d6 back then.

freshpopcorn

Not Ireland but I recently saw some episodes of Crimewatch UK from the 1980's.
They called a man sleeping in a door way a tramp and the homosexuals got a bad doing as well. If it aired Today Twitter would explode.

ChippingSodbury

topper75 wrote: »

...

An Irish CB ran the rate for the punt. It was a currency/rate for OUR economy, not for a depressed German banking sector or a roaring Parisian property market. It was ours. By us, for us.
And our politicians gave that away without ever asking us.

Well they did ask us in the referendums. But running your own currency isn't all sweetness and light either: don't you remember the currency crisis in 1992/1993?

One of the most notable features of the currency crisis was the
unprecedented levels to which Irish interest rates were increased
in defence of the currency. Initially, the Central Bank refrained
from increasing its Short Term Facility (STF) rate but, as it became
clear that pressure on money-market rates would persist, the STF
rate was raised by three percentage points to 13.75 per cent
on 28 September 1992. The Bank later suspended the STF and
provided overnight support at rates of up to 100 per cent
— see
Chart 2. Official rate increases were reflected in short-term
money-market interest rates and were passed on to business
borrowers who had DIBOR-related contracts.

At that time a £75,000 mortgage over 20 years would have cost you almost £900 a month at a time when average industrial wage was about £500 per week before tax. I was a bit young but I think interest rate went as high as 25% for deposits around that time.

Ipso

In the late 90's I got a student loan, the rate was 10%. It's between 4 and 5 now and people are complaining about it compared to the rest of Europe.

UrbanFret

The 80s music has stood the test of time. The pub scene was fantastic, now spoiled by every supermarket selling dirt cheap alcohol. Work was scarce, still is away from the cities and large towns. The british army garrisons were on every road across the frontier harrassing(and worse) people trying to travel a few miles north and there was a good living to be made smuggling. Mixed memories but Im glad I lived through it and not the modern day camera phone recorded existence. All that remains are some grubby photographs on kodak paper and the memories, as it should be !

Roger Hassenforder

Formica furniture
Black and white TV - I remember when Dad arrived home with a colour TV like it was yesterday.
Admiral Manchester United Jerseys...

They were the days...

dxhound2005

UrbanFret wrote: »

The 80s music has stood the test of time. The pub scene was fantastic, now spoiled by every supermarket selling dirt cheap alcohol.

I wonder do people got to pubs for sessions these days?

Sgt Hartman

Back then once someone went beyond the age of 30 they were considered middle aged and they dressed and had hairstyles as such. I've seen people in their early 30's on Reeling in the Years and by the way they looked and dressed they would easily pass for someone in their early 50's now.

Sgt Hartman

Also, brown clothing, y fronts and bathing only once a week seemed to be the rage back then.

Ipso

Sgt Hartman wrote: »

Also, brown clothing, y fronts and bathing only once a week seemed to be the rage back then.

And walking or cycling to school (granted there are more cars on the roads these days).

cajonlardo

In the late 70s I went into A&E with broken bones in my hand . This was about 10 am. X-rayed, bones set and plaster and home in time for dinner. You'd be lucky to get out in 12 hours now.

I've a DVD here showing an event that travelled the country in the mid 70s. Crowds came out I'm the town's and I cannot see fat people amongst them. Believe me weight watchers wouldn't have made money.

Bought a house in 86.
I had an unskilled job and if I'd had 2 years wages on the table that would have covered the house price. I mean if you were a factory worker or supermarket checkout operator you could buy a house.
There was any number of houses for sale and you just offered 10% less than asking

Every gob****e wasn't going to 3rd level and I think there were less bitter twisted "Professional" types as a result. Apprenticeships , the defense forces and other career routes were options

There were the obvious problems ( not great times for women, maybe even worse for LGBT)

One big drawback was the emigration - so many of my friends gone to UK or USA .

But anyone who believes we haven't got a whole new heap of snags now has their eyes and ears closed

whiskeyman

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

Everything was orange and brown

Except for dog poo.

Dog poo was white!

:pac:

nullzero

Pretty drab and depressing, not like the world we saw in American movies of the time where everything seemed an awful lot better, probably why people still clung to anything American back then.

Food was an awful lot simpler, it seemed like everyone was having mince or chops for dinner, you could smell it coming out of every house in the evenings, even simple things like pasta or pizza seemed extremely exotic, we had simpler pallets to put it mildly.

Oh and smog from the coal fires in the winter, hard to believe how smokey the air was in a relatively modern era, all changed in the early 90's with smokeless coal and people relying more on their central heating.

It wasn't all doom and gloom but I definitely remember feeling like we had progressed an awful lot as a country by the mid 90's.

Marcusm

topper75 wrote: »

I can't pretty up unemployment for anyone.

But the high rates meant little or no speculation in the housing side of things.

If you did get that job, then a house would follow. The mortgage deposit % wasn't as rigourous something like 10%. Yes the monthly repayments would be rough. But it was at least ATTAINABLE. Big difference to today.

It is pointless looking back at a historical period saying Oh they had no X like we have today. We didn't know about it back then, and what you don't know ...

An Irish CB ran the rate for the punt. It was a currency/rate for OUR economy, not for a depressed German banking sector or a roaring Parisian property market. It was ours. By us, for us.
And our politicians gave that away without ever asking us.

Did you miss the referendum on the Maastricht treaty?

freshpopcorn

Something I'd love to know is how happy were people then compared to now!

oceanman

I remember being able to go to the pub nearly every night for a few jars with my pals, great times, couldn't afford to do that these days...very little work around but loads of nixers!

zapitastas

British army patrols and checkpoints, helicopters, RUC making snarky comments, older lads out throwing stuff at them. Everything seemed pretty exciting

Your Face

It was tough OP.
After the alien invasion you couldn't get turf anywhere.

BBFAN

Toilets?? Who on earth told you we didn't have toilets in the 80's????

freshpopcorn

freshpopcorn wrote: »

Something I'd love to know is how happy were people then compared to now!

I was very happy back then. I was young and life was one big exciting adventure. Reality hit in the late 80’s with me responsible for 2 small children alone. But, I think that you have to go through the bad times to appreciate how lucky you are.
I’m happy now, but it’s a different kind of happiness. My kids are reared. I’m married to a great man. I’m no longer curious about things like I was as a teenager.
I’ve got much more material things, like a house, car, mobile phone, internet etc...

freshpopcorn

BBFAN wrote: »

Toilets?? Who on earth told you we didn't have toilets in the 80's????

I know a few people who didn't get toilets until the 1990's and even the 2000's!

BBFAN

freshpopcorn wrote: »

I know a few people who didn't get toilets until the 1990's and even the 2000's!

Okay...….. well as someone who lived through the 70's and 80's we never didn't have a toilet. In the 70's maybe we didn't have a bath but always had a toilet. Where do you think people did their business????

dxhound2005

cajonlardo wrote: »

In the late 70s I went into A&E with broken bones in my hand . This was about 10 am. X-rayed, bones set and plaster and home in time for dinner. You'd be lucky to get out in 12 hours now.

There is an extra 1.5 million people in the country now, and probably not a commensurate increase in health provision. But it is possible that a great number of patients are being treated promptly.

These days there is so much misery laden reportage that it is likely giving a skewed image of the overall position. Nobody will bother telling the media if they had an experience like yours yesterday, whereas a few hundred waiting on trolleys occupies most of the news for the whole month of January every year.

denismc

I remember the news from the 80's was pretty full on,
You had;
Shergar,
Hunger Strikes,
Kidnappings,
The Border Fox
Bombings every other day
Kerry Babies,
Moving Statues,
Charlie Haughy
Cold War shenanigans.

These days Serena Wiliams throwing strops on a tennis court is what passes for news, what dull times we live in.

freshpopcorn

BBFAN wrote: »

Okay...….. well as someone who lived through the 70's and 80's we never didn't have a toilet. In the 70's maybe we didn't have a bath but always had a toilet. Where do you think people did their business????

I'm reffeing to people in rural areas so generally in a hole or ditch. Some where away from the house.
They probably had a commode in the house for night time/etc.

hairyslug

We had an orange Austin Allegro and I had none of my own new clothes, everything was hand me downs from all the older kids in the neighbourhood.

BBFAN

Anyway, back on topic. I was fairly happy in the 70's because I was a kid but I don't think it was a happy time for my parents, I remember my mother crying a lot and my father wasn't a very happy man. We as kids though had great craic playing on the street for at least 8 hours every day.

Got better in the 80's and I was even happier as a teenager.

Earned 34.50 per week in my first job, gave 10 to my mother, bought new clothes or make up and went out at least 4 times a week, ah happy days. Great music, great buzz around Dublin, plenty of opportunity to meet people in the flesh.

I suppose the downside was if you were any way different life was really really **** for you during those times. The church were still telling people what was acceptable and what wasn't. The fact that I was a straight female made it very easy for me.

Also, heroin was an absolute curse that killed so many back then. I suppose it's still a huge problem now but doesn't seem to kill as many people? Also AIDS was a big problem and was killing people. It's not killing people now thank god.

Yester

Black shoes. White socks. Oh yeah!

Loves_lorries

Lower expectations, holidays abroad were unheard of etc

freshpopcorn

Yester wrote: »

Black shoes. White socks. Oh yeah!

Sounds like the local guys who call around selling knives, socks, gates and looking for scrap metal Today.

dxhound2005

Shoe polish.