After reading the captions next to each picture of this wonderful book, one cannot help but be reminded of the Father’s speech in The Quiet Man. It was while he was trying to fish and Mary Kate came to ask advice about her new husband. The good man said, “Ireland may be a poor country God bless us, but….” The rest of the quote is not part of my point. That most people thought of Ireland as a poor country was taken for granted. And, by most of the pictures in this book, you can see it had validation. The thing that struck me the most, was no matter how poor the children in these pictures seemed to be, they were either blissfully unaware of that fact, or it just didn’t matter to them. Beautifully grungy, smudged faces grin at you from almost every page. These children really seemed to be truly happy. Which does go a long way to justify the old quote, money isn’t everything. I’m sure they were hungry at times, cold at times and needed better clothes. But, someone was making these children feel loved and cared for; whether parents or relatives.
Many of the photos show how things have changed in the world since the 1930s and 40s. It’s very interesting to see how things differ between then and now. Some things haven’t changed that much; jobs are still hard to come by. One photo shows a long line of men at the library, eager for the posting of any new jobs available. This shows that there was a will toward a better life, just not the means.
This book is a beautiful testament of the spirit of a great people and one that would be a treasure to own. It shows a slice of life that one may never otherwise get to experience and the reader will be richer for having read it.
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