{"product_id":"and-friends-irish-members-network-of-stevenage-the-from-the-emerald-isle-to-the-green-belt-of-stevenage-an-oral-history-of-irish-settlers-in-stevenage-9780957623101","title":"From the Emerald Isle to the Green Belt of Stevenage: An Oral History of Irish Settlers in Stevenage","description":"Leaving family and friends behind in Ireland, the first generation of Irish settlers in Stevenage staked their lives on an uncertain future. The new town that emerged in the 1940’s and 1950’s was a bold but untried experiment in population management that would be tested in real time on real families. Thanks to personal sacrifice, resilience, good humour and sheer hard work, however, the gamble paid off and thousands of Irish pioneers found themselves in an uncharted corner of England armed only with the determination to create a new town, a new life and a new future for themselves and their families. This oral history is a record of the challenges they faced and the emotions they experienced turning a planner’s dreams into a community reality. In their own words those early Irish immigrants tell their personal stories publicly for the first time. They speak of their struggles and of their joys, but chiefly of their satisfaction in creating a vibrant community that is thriving still – a living memorial to their commitment and perseverance. The Irish Network Stevenage has been privileged to interview a wide cross section of those pioneers and to bring to light a rich seam of popular history never unearthed before. The result is a densely patterned human narrative recounting the ordinary (and not so ordinary) stories of the people who fashioned Stevenage into the diverse and successful town it is today.","brand":"Irish Network Stevenage","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53755522056534,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0925\/5829\/5382\/files\/product_image_9780957623101_1.jpg?v=1781795698","url":"https:\/\/www.momoxbooks.com\/products\/and-friends-irish-members-network-of-stevenage-the-from-the-emerald-isle-to-the-green-belt-of-stevenage-an-oral-history-of-irish-settlers-in-stevenage-9780957623101","provider":"momoxbooks","version":"1.0","type":"link"}