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Birmingham Irish

I used to follow a Brummie Irish Band called Slip Jig when they came to Coventry, headed by Tommy Dempsey. Then it became the Tommy Dempsey Band. One of my Brummie client's at work's husband played in it. We also followed Fish 'N' Chips, Scartaglen, Rocky Road and Mulliners Rough. And there used to be several Irish Showbands playing in all the clubs.
 
So the publicans kept there wage cheque on a friday night on tik accounts, while the land lords of these drinking holes got rich they be the clever ones so called at the time the clever irish, the others on the wrong side of the counter ended up in the routin house. First seen that place at the age of eight it was in front of huftons compound factory.
 
I grew up in the 60/70s in an Irish family. We lived in Sparkbook, Garrison Lane and Bordesley Green/Small Heath border. Nearly every one of my mates was from an Irish or West Indian family. I only realised decades later, that we never really mixed with kids from English families. Unconscious bias? My parents were from Donegal and we went to Mass every Sunday. I live in Ireland now. In the 80/90s there was exodus of Irish from many parts of Birmingham because it was clear that the demographics of certain areas were being changed through council house allocation. In the 80s Small Heath became a safe haven for open drug dealing. This transformed a close knit community where kids grew up playing in the streets into a place where it wasn't safe to let your kids go out play. But in the 60s/70s it was a great place to grow up in.
 
I grew up in the 60/70s in an Irish family. We lived in Sparkbook, Garrison Lane and Bordesley Green/Small Heath border. Nearly every one of my mates was from an Irish or West Indian family. I only realised decades later, that we never really mixed with kids from English families. Unconscious bias? My parents were from Donegal and we went to Mass every Sunday. I live in Ireland now. In the 80/90s there was exodus of Irish from many parts of Birmingham because it was clear that the demographics of certain areas were being changed through council house allocation. In the 80s Small Heath became a safe haven for open drug dealing. This transformed a close knit community where kids grew up playing in the streets into a place where it wasn't safe to let your kids go out play. But in the 60s/70s it was a great place to grow up in.
Maybe it was the school you went to? My best mate from Dublin went to the same Secondary Modern as me. But an awful lot of Irish children went to RC schools or RC junior and infants. He wished he had too as they all seemed to stick together. He used to be excused assembly with the handful of Asian children but that was daft as it was the same, for him, it was Christianity, just prayers and hymns and a do as you would be done by theme. The Salvationist children attended too. Ironically he stayed with an Asian family when they first came over in the 50s. Caribbean children would not be necessarily be Catholics would they?.
 
PS .re a previous post, where I said I am not Irish, my birth sister has done her DNA and we have about 20 percent Irish but she hasn't found them yet.
 
So the publicans kept there wage cheque on a friday night on tik accounts, while the land lords of these drinking holes got rich they be the clever ones so called at the time the clever irish, the others on the wrong side of the counter ended up in the routin house. First seen that place at the age of eight it was in front of huftons compound factory.
What is a routin house?
 
I grew up in the 60/70s in an Irish family. We lived in Sparkbook, Garrison Lane and Bordesley Green/Small Heath border. Nearly every one of my mates was from an Irish or West Indian family. I only realised decades later, that we never really mixed with kids from English families. Unconscious bias? My parents were from Donegal and we went to Mass every Sunday. I live in Ireland now. In the 80/90s there was exodus of Irish from many parts of Birmingham because it was clear that the demographics of certain areas were being changed through council house allocation. In the 80s Small Heath became a safe haven for open drug dealing. This transformed a close knit community where kids grew up playing in the streets into a place where it wasn't safe to let your kids go out play. But in the 60s/70s it was a great place to grow up in.
Hello Jim, I was born on Garrison Lane of Irish parents, myself and my brothers went to a catholic junior school, now it's not the catholic bit that's important, it's the fact that every kid there was the same as me, English but also Irish. we mixed with Irish people all the time. On Sunday, down to mass, and then visiting Irish relations that also lived in Birmingham. I ended up going to a catholic secondary school and now I was mixing with English kids, no, wrong, they were all Irish, first generation English, we all thought and identified as English, we thought at the time that none of us were Irish. Anyhow, it's over 50 years since I grew up in Garrison Lane, I now live in Ireland and I am always fascinated at the amount of my old school friends who live here now also. My memories of an old England are warm and happy but places like Birmingham are alive and change rapidly and vastly, and the direction of change that the place was going in around the year 2000 was not where I wanted to be. Miss the place every day.
 
Hello Jim, I was born on Garrison Lane of Irish parents, myself and my brothers went to a catholic junior school, now it's not the catholic bit that's important, it's the fact that every kid there was the same as me, English but also Irish. we mixed with Irish people all the time. On Sunday, down to mass, and then visiting Irish relations that also lived in Birmingham. I ended up going to a catholic secondary school and now I was mixing with English kids, no, wrong, they were all Irish, first generation English, we all thought and identified as English, we thought at the time that none of us were Irish. Anyhow, it's over 50 years since I grew up in Garrison Lane, I now live in Ireland and I am always fascinated at the amount of my old school friends who live here now also. My memories of an old England are warm and happy but places like Birmingham are alive and change rapidly and vastly, and the direction of change that the place was going in around the year 2000 was not where I wanted to be. Miss the place every day.
I love this thread. A large amount of children I grew up with were Irish. In Coventry. It is interesting to read Birmingham had areas where different nationalities lived. Not sure about the demographics here but I lived opposite a Catholic church & school. Our neighbours both sides were Irish. We had Irish lodgers for different reasons & I was refused enty to the school as we were 'not of the faith'.
My closest friend who is Irish went to my school. He would have preferred a Catholic Irish pupil school. Our Irish communities were scattered. We had notably affluent Irish. Business people.I notice the sea if Irish names ib the cemetery. We have Irish (Catholic originally) clubs, Irish pubs when the folK scene was big.My friends first lodged with an Asian family. Nan had lodgers 3 were Irish, one lady came back every year to visit great gran.
3 if my Brummie cousins, sisters, married Irishmen the 2nd time around. I hope more people contribute to this excellent post.
 
At 16 I never wanted to live any place but Small Heath. Now I don't like driving through it.
I left Small Heath in 1974 aged 18. I've lived in many places since then and am now now retired in Ireland. Small Heath was starting to change when I left. I drove down the Coventry road around five years ago for the first time in forty years. A noticeable thing was that all of the pubs were either gone or closed, including the Brighton Arms where I often had an undreage pint and the Malt Shovel, that great old school Irish Pub. My Irish registered car got a few strange looks! Times moves on and change is always happening in big cities but I did regret the passing of the Small Heath that I remembered from the sixties and early seventies.
 
There was a really good play in April which I couldn't get to see called the Fighting Irish about an Irish boxer living here,. going there & the search finding his identity in both countries. By Coventry Playwright, Jamie McGough. If it ever comes your way
 
I used to follow a Brummie Irish Band called Slip Jig when they came to Coventry, headed by Tommy Dempsey. Then it became the Tommy Dempsey Band. One of my Brummie client's at work's husband played in it. We also followed Fish 'N' Chips, Scartaglen, Rocky Road and Mulliners Rough. And there used to be several Irish Showbands playing in all the clubs.
My friend used to own the Tower of Song in Kings Norton. Tommy Dempsey used to play regularly up until quite recently, his band now being called Dempsey's Lot. Brilliant performer, as much a stand up comedian as singer. It's under new management now so I don't know if Tommy still plays there.
 
Hi Nico, yes it is a music venue. It was set up by Tom Martin a well known local musician in Kings Norton. Tom set it up to cater for original acts, roots, blues folk etc and singer songwriters as opposed to tribute acts. I believe Tom was part of the Songwriters Circle from the 80's and some of the original artists from back then played at the Tower. I haven't been down since the pandemic but I understand that it is under new management now, but Tom still plays there. Tommy Dempsey played there regularly when I used to go, at least once a month, sometimes on the wednesday open mic sessions and occasionally as the main act on a friday or saturday night with Dempsey's Lot. I'm afraid I don't know the names of his band, but they were brilliant and it was always a great night out. The Tower of Song has a website and facebook page for the "old" venue which you may be able to see the band on. Hope this helps.
 
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