NOWADAYS when we think of emigration, we think of the many young people who have emigrated to locations such as Australia, the Middle East or America but for generations of Donegal emigrants, the destinations of choice were the cities of Glasgow and London.
In the mid 1980s, when Ireland was deep in recession, many local people travelled to these cities for work and better opportunities. One group of young people from Creeslough, Dunfanaghy and surrounding areas made the journey to London where many of them stayed in a house in Mablethorpe Road SW6, owned by the late Anton McFaddden from Creeslough.
In 1947, Anton himself had emigrated when he was just 18 years old, along with his older brother Jimmy who was 21. They went to Scotland first, where Jimmy got a man’s wage as he was 21. Anton, however, got a boy’s wage because he was only 18.
After spending a short time in Scotland, they headed to London where Anton all of a sudden gained three years and could now receive a man’s wage.
By the mid 1980s, Anton had made his home in London working as an inspector on the roads there. He never left London, where he worked hard and reared his family of four sons and three daughters along with his wife, Eileen who herself emigrated from Co Laois. During those years, it wasn’t just his own children that he looked after, but the many young people that travelled from his local area who highlighted how well looked after by Anton they were.
For many, this was the first time that they were away from home and it was reassuring for their parents to know that there was a familiar face who was looking out for them. Anton was always there to give them advice on how to handle their money and how to negotiate life in general in the big c.
Hugh McCarry went to work in London in the mid 1980s. Already enjoying the delights of Mablethorpe Rd were two of Hugh’s friends, Michael McGinley and Victor Hunter. Hugh decided to take the leap across the pond after meeting them in the Corncutters Rest in Creeslough when they were on a visit home. He flew to Heathrow Airport and went straight to Fulham where he would spend the next four years of his life in Anton’s house, which he said were among some of the best, and craziest, days of his life.
On Sunday, August 2, a reunion will be held in Rose’s Bar in Creeslough recalling those days and the great craic and times.
Hugh, one of the organisers of the event, recalls that when the young people Anton kept first arrived, they were given the first week rent free and after that it was £17. If you were at home for the holidays, you would not be charged.
Through visits to the local pub, the Bedford Arms, the young emigrants were introduced to an older generation from Creeslough.
Sadly, Anton was killed in a work related accident in 1990. His death came as a huge blow to his family, friends and the people who had passed through his doors that he had been so good in the preceding years.
Since the news of the reunion broke, many of the older generation from Creeslough, Dunfanaghy, Carrigart and Cashel who would have stayed with Anton have been in touch.
Organisers are holding this reunion first and foremost, to celebrate Anton McFadden’s life, to thank his family and to pay tribute to all the people from this area who have emigrated to London over the years.
The evening will get underway at 5pm, followed by music with Keelan Pritchard at 7pm and DJ John Bosco at 10pm, who will no doubt play some 1980s’ classics for the occasion.
The late Anton McFadden in his youth.