Dying professions in Ireland

**DiscoPants** · 14/03/2007, 12:57 PM

Hi,

I'm doing my college thesis on dying professions in Ireland. I have a list of about 20 here and I need to whittle it down to about five. I'm sure,though, that I have left some trades/professions out so If anyone wants to give me a hand with some suggestions it would be greatly appreciated.

Here's some examples: farrier/blacksmith,chimneysweep, thatcher etc. The quirkier the better.

My final thesis will be five fairly substantial profiles/features/colour pieces and so obviously I would need to be able to make contact with these people for interviews etc. So if anyone knows of a friend,neighbour,family member or anyone for that matter that is holding out aginst the all-consuming Celtic Tiger let me know.

Don't mean to bore the good people of foot.ie, but anytime I've brought this up with friends it has always generated a good bit of interest and discussion.

And no; for the purposes of this thesis I will not - just yet at least - consider an Irish footballer as a dying profession.

Any suggestions or help would be much appreciated.
Nice one.
Brian.

**paul_oshea** · 14/03/2007, 1:14 PM

stonemasons? i mean for walls and finishes, there cant be that many left.....proper ones like

**Lim till i die** · 14/03/2007, 1:22 PM

Upholsterer - My dads trade

Harness Maker - My grandads trade

EDIT - Sorry, didn't read the whole thing

My poor deceased granda would have a job doing an interview and my da currently works seven days a week due to dying nature of said job

**DiscoPants** · 14/03/2007, 1:32 PM

Originally Posted by Lim till i die

Upholsterer - My dads trade

Harness Maker - My grandads trade

EDIT - Sorry, didn't read the whole thing

My poor deceased granda would have a job doing an interview and my da currently works seven days a week due to dying nature of said job

Don't worry if you cant put me in contact or anything, just generating ideas at the moment. Hadn't thought of any of those to be honest.

Nice one.

**Erstwhile B�z** · 14/03/2007, 1:39 PM

Don't know anybody off-hand, but as part of your research you could contact RT� and see if they could give you access to that series from the '80s, Hands. It was repeated recently on RT� 2 and was absolutely brilliant. Weavers and carPENTers from the country, stained-glass makers and cobbles-layers from ould Dublin. Some of them might be still around, actually.

**DiscoPants** · 14/03/2007, 2:17 PM

Originally Posted by Erstwhile B�z

Don't know anybody off-hand, but as part of your research you could contact RT� and see if they could give you access to that series from the '80s, Hands. It was repeated recently on RT� 2 and was absolutely brilliant. Weavers and carPENTers from the country, stained-glass makers and cobbles-layers from ould Dublin. Some of them might be still around, actually.

I saw that series and it was brilliant. I had forgotten the name of it actually and I just might give RTE a shout. The one thing is that my subjects still need to be practising their trade and I have a feeling a lot of those guys have either passed away or they are not involved in their chosen professions anymore. These are exactly the type of people I am after, though - the last bastions of a bygone era.

Thanks.
Brian

**jebus** · 14/03/2007, 2:22 PM

Ask a publician near you, one that owns a small 'old man' bar how long these type of bars will be around for, and they'll all tell you they will be gone within the next 10-20 years, to be replaced by superpubs. Its my family's business and its been known in the trade for a while that small pubs are on the way out, in fact most pub owners I know have no intention of passing it on to their children (our pub is an example) as their isn't enough profit in running this type of establishment anymore. And do you know who I blame for this....

You Ireland....Ffuuucccckkkkk You!

**Roadend** · 14/03/2007, 2:29 PM

Originally Posted by paul_oshea

stonemasons? i mean for walls and finishes, there cant be that many left.....proper ones like

They are still around, but secretive with their special handshakes and whatnot...

**hoops1** · 14/03/2007, 2:40 PM

Undertakers

**Neish** · 14/03/2007, 2:42 PM

Efficient Ireland Managers
Efficient FAI Bosses

**NY Hoop** · 14/03/2007, 2:44 PM

Coopers.

KOH

**OwlsFan** · 14/03/2007, 2:58 PM

Home delivery milkmen (staggering home at 5 in the morning to be greeted by the milkman) and breadmen (oh the lovely smell from those vans).

**WeAreRovers** · 14/03/2007, 3:00 PM

Originally Posted by DiscoPants

I saw that series and it was brilliant. I had forgotten the name of it actually and I just might give RTE a shout. The one thing is that my subjects still need to be practising their trade and I have a feeling a lot of those guys have either passed away or they are not involved in their chosen professions anymore. These are exactly the type of people I am after, though - the last bastions of a bygone era.

Thanks.
Brian

http://www.rte.ie/laweb/sales/sales_edu.html

KOH

**drummerboy** · 14/03/2007, 3:27 PM

Compositors (they used to put type together for printing)

**pete** · 14/03/2007, 3:31 PM

Go to any say Car Insurance web site & look for quote on sample vehicle. The list of professions seems to have last updated in 1930. Hundreds of thousands of people work in IT but feck all options beyond Manager & Engineer.

**anto1208** · 14/03/2007, 3:35 PM

Cobblers
Electronic repair shops
the guy with the cart collecting the dead bodies from the plague
hangman
knights / dragon slayer
jestors

**Lionel Ritchie** · 14/03/2007, 3:38 PM

Thatchers (no not that b1tch)

There's apparently only four full time thatchers left on the island.

Someone mentioned Glass artists (as in stained glass). I used work in this area and it's thriving. Not to say it's expanding now but there's plenty of work in it. All the "superpubs" Jebus referred to love it as it thinks it makes them ...well I believe the word they'd use is sophisticated. But because it's a pub it's going into -it'll get damaged so ching ching ching for the glass artists.

BTW -not that I don't have a degree of sympathy for the position these little pubs Jebus refers to find themselves in but if ever there was an industry in Ireland where there's room for rationalisition/contraction/whatever -it's the pub trade.

**DiscoPants** · 14/03/2007, 5:24 PM

Originally Posted by anto1208

Cobblers
Electronic repair shops
the guy with the cart collecting the dead bodies from the plague
hangman
knights / dragon slayer
jestors

You don't have a contact number for the guy with the cart and the dead bodies by any chance, or does he use e-mail?

Seriously though, thanks for the input and keep 'em coming if you can think of any more.

**Sheridan** · 14/03/2007, 5:42 PM

My family were cobblers (some would say they still are.)

There are no manned lighthouses left in Ireland, so add lighthouse keepers to the list. Fascinating profession.