The 70's and 80's in Ireland

gormdubhgorm wrote: »

Plus I get the feeling people these days internalise what they really think for fear they may offend another group/or another group(s) waiting to find offence.

You haven't spent much time on boards.ie then?

gormdubhgorm wrote: »

The 70's and 80's were different times people could say what they thought as long as it did not critisise the church in anyway. (The only group who was permitted to find offence in those days)
Now it has gone full circle, and it is a minefield.

Plus I get the feeling people these days internalise what they really think for fear they may offend another group/or another group(s) waiting to find offence.

Was mistress that bad a term? It was a vindictive use of it yes, but it was a correct usage of the term.
It does have more romantic connotations in the likes of France/royalty in fairness.
But again, even this has come full circle as people wonder is it worth the bother/cost of getting married at all.

It was meant at the time as a nasty comment. I'd have tore her ignorant eyelids open.

freshpopcorn wrote: »

I'd love to see what some of these people are at Today.
I think one of the at 4:00 appeared again during the marriage referendum.

They're isolated and confined to groups like the Iona Institute thankfully

freshpopcorn wrote: »

Well I say some of them are but you'd be amazed at the amount of people who were against condoms, against homosexuality being decriminalised, divorcee, etc but they've drastically changed there views on things in the last few years.
They still go to mass,etc but they aren't as devout.

Unfortunately I know only too well. I'd categorize my mother who is in her 80s as being one of that group back then.
Certainly her views have mellowed since then (for example she would have been in favour of decriminalizing homosexuality) but I'd know how she voted for the 8th amendment referendum for example and I bet I know how she voted in the recent referendum.
At this stage I don't bother debating things like this with her. She's too old to change now and nobody will gain anything from an argument. Also she keeps her views to herself

Hamsterchops wrote: »

Anyone old enough to remember the 1970s should also remember those little statues on car dashboards?
Seemed like every 2nd car had a statue of Jesus (or was it St Anthony)?

Stuck on the dash for good luck

It was often St Christopher , the patron saint of travellers .

iamwhoiam wrote: »

It was often St Christopher , the patron saint of travellers .

They also had a little picture of Padre Pio

See, people nowadays look back at the 70s and 80s and wonder why we weren't all killed in horrific car accidents. Overloaded cars with loads of kids not wearing seatbelts, no child seats etc.
Quite simple really - the St Christopher statues and Padre Pio pictures actually worked!

Heroditas wrote: »

See, people nowadays look back at the 70s and 80s and wonder why we weren't all killed in horrific car accidents. Overloaded cars with loads of kids not wearing seatbelts, no child seats etc.
Quite simple really - the St Christopher statues and Padre Pio pictures actually worked!

And there were like 4 cars in Ireland.

I drove a lot around the country in the 80s , and the one thing that was very obvious as the recession continued was the terrible drab state of the country , leaving aside the shocking state of the roads.

I remember driving through Tubbercurry in 86 and seeing a town still in the 50s , difficult to get lunch or a cup of coffee , no development

Then I happened back there in 2006, and more recently last year , much more vibrant, houses painted and fresh looking , building going on around the town , much more food and drink available. looks far more prosperous then the 80s

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

Death rates on the roads were double or treble our current rates?

Maybe those people didn't have their statues on the dashboard

10pennymixup wrote: »

Nah, there was at least that amount sitting in the back yard of our house. They were needed for parts to keep the family car or work van going. Use to love playing in them as a kid. Even had a "gang hut" in the back of an orange and white renault 4 ex post and telegraph van

The cars were less technological then, no such things as electronics really. And if something went wrong (as was often enough) you just fixed it yourself. I wouldn't even go near my wife's new car to service it never mind repair it

My father, two uncles and a few neighbours all had pits in their sheds/ garages for car repair. It's a rare thing in a new build nowdays.

Car designers ( I used to work in that industry ) don’t really want anyone repairing the cars , as you can’t reassemble anything built after the 70s with the same precision as the assembly line

Not withstanding that, electronics are just as repairable as anything else , it’s just the average mechanic simply isn’t setup from training or facilities to do so.

Of course failure rates on modern cars are a fraction of yesterday’s cars , bodies now last 20 years or more , engines are good for 300,000km without any major work, I well remember my fathers cars n the 70s needing rebores at 100K mikes and the bodies rotten with rust after 10 years

You had more repair facilities cause you needed them

gormdubhgorm wrote: »

Thinking of the Cars.
Cars used to rust all the time.
There was no NCT or anything of the sort.

My auld fella had a Mazda.
Had it for most of the 80's riddled with rust.
It's most interesting 'feature' was the huge whole in front on the seat on the passenger side, covered by a bit of plywood board.
We were given out to when we removed the plywood board to look at the road, while the car was moving.

There was one time my Dad came home drenched wet, it was not even raining...
He had driven through a big puddle of water.

Ah yes the 60s , walking to school, behind the Auld fellas clapped out VW beetle as he reverse up the hill ( reverse was lower then first ) and he couldn’t carry the weight of 5 kids up the hill

L1011 wrote: »

The era of teenage/early 20s marriages was very short; and ended when you could get away with being together without being married

In the early 80s (Dublin) an older cousin of mine moved in with her boyfriend

Her mother went to the parish priest and asked if there was anything he could do! (He said no)

She was nearly 30 ffs

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

LOLed at this, I'm the sole earner in our household and by no means wealthy.




An illusion. There was plenty of bad stuff happening, it was just covered up and not just the priests either.

There was no 'gun culture' similar to today though in the 1970's and 1980's.

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/crime/republic-of-ireland-is-deadliest-place-to-live-in-irish-and-british-isles-new-figures-34614775.html


Back in the 70's 80's - our friends up North were the main worry as far as guns were concerned.


Recent Rates of Homicide [2003-2016] (which had to be revised because they were under-reported)


https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-rc/recordedcrimeq42017/homicidestatisticsrevisions/









http://justice.ie/en/JELR/Dooley,%20Homicide%20in%20Ireland%201972-1991.pdf/Files/Dooley,%20Homicide%20in%20Ireland%201972-1991.pdf

cgcsb wrote: »

My understanding of the time was that the economy was based on protectionism...in the 80s there was talk of banning 'foreign' airlines from package holidays to protect the state airline

Quite true, it was actually illegal for any airline to offer fares lower than AL.

Jobs in AL, P&T, ESB and RTE were basically protected Civil Service jobs and a lot of nepotism went on.