BBC "Who Do You Think You Are?" Gareth Malone (WDYTYA Series 12 Episode 5)

[Blue70]

Irish migration is often associated with a later period but if you look at those early Leeds RC records there's a lot of Irish names in there. Dan like Shane MacGowan of The Pogues was singing songs of his ancestral home, Ireland. 


Blue

[sallyyorks]

Irish migration is often associated with a later period but if you look at those early Leeds RC records there's a lot of Irish names in there. Dan like Shane MacGowan of The Pogues was singing songs of his ancestral home, Ireland. 


Blue

There are also many more English surnames in catholic records at that time period.
As I said before, I have English Catholics in my family from the north of England . They all have local surnames, like Lowry, too.
He opened a pub/theatre  in Liverpool , he saw an opportunity to provide a local need for the Irish community there . His fondness for Irish songs might have simply been that he liked them and Irish songs were not that much different to English folk songs anyway. A lot of the songs at that time probably had local variations and adaptable lyrics.  It was popular sheet music, churned out on a large scale.

[Finley 1]

IF your IRISH come into MY PARLOUR, there's a welcome here for you, especially if your name is Gareth Malone.....

He is a lovely chap and his roots .. whatever ... they are are great.  Watching him work, proves he is caring - good and kind, but also firm. 

  I like the chap ( a little  )


xin

[sallyyorks]

- 1841 Census shows Dan's family at Zion Street 


Blue

There are some old photos online of Zion Street (Peacock Yard?) where the Lowrys were living in 1841. They are on the Leodis website. Its a great site for anyone interested in Leeds history and it has 60,000 + photos. There are some photos of a "Peacock Yard" (Elland Road area) too, but I don't think its the same yard.

On the census for the Lowrys, it was the Zion St near East St and Ellerby road

Leodis website
http://www.leodis.net/default.aspx

http://www.leodis.net/display.aspx?resourceIdentifier=20091124_169840

[jaywit]

This suggests there was Irish immigration to Leeds from 1815 onwards.

http://www.untoldstories.co.uk/ie_intro.do

So possible.

[ChrissieL]

I enjoyed this programme.  I like Gareth Malone and it was nice to see him doing some of his own research, even if it was only a little bit.  I think we sometimes forget that these programmes are made for a wide audience and need to have some entertainment value.  It was lovely to see Pappa's face when he was watching the film of his grandfather, and I loved all the singing!

I have a theatrical performer in my family tree, wee Georgie Wood, who was baptised George Wood Bamlett and the programme has inspired me at least to find out more about life on the stage at the beginning of the 20th century

Chris

[jaywit]

From Wiki about the history of Roscrea.

The population of Roscrea appears to have reached its height in the 1830s (see below). In 1885 a wool merchant from the neighbouring town of Birr reported to the House of Commons Select Committee on Industries (Ireland) that in the early decades of the 19th century 1,000 men were employed in Roscrea as weavers and wool combers, but that by the early 1880s this number had dropped to just 2.[19]

[Blue70]

I have some Hunslet (Leeds area) roots my Atkinson line comes from around there. They moved to Lancashire.


Blue

[jillruss]

I found this episode completely boring and thought Gareth was a bit snobbish. As for the sing song in the pub - no wonder it was almost empty !

Couldn't agree more! Didn't know who he was before this and thought he came over as an over confident, snobbish bore - and I was convinced he already knew most of it anyway.

I also agree that this series is perhaps one too many, although I enjoyed the Derek Jacobi one very much.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, the US one is now much better than 'ours', even when I have no idea who the subject is!!