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13th Dec 2017

This Archive Footage Of A Country Girl Moving To Dublin In The ’60s Is Fascinating

James Fenton

Coming from a small Irish town in 2017, it’s hard to resist the bright lights of Dublin with all the career opportunities and nightlife that comes with it. 

This has always been the case though, with so many Dubliners having country parents who at one point or another made the move to the Big Shmoke. But what was it like moving to the hustle and bustle of capital from a more peaceful environment back in the day? This archive RTÉ footage from 1967 gives us some idea. 

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Taken from the programme Newsbeat, which ran from 1964 to 1971, the clip aired on December 13 1967, 50 years ago today. It follows Frances McGuigan from Castleblaney, Co. Monaghan as she adjusts to life following her move to Dublin. 

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Frances talks about a range of topics from what she does for a living, how much she misses her family and her struggles to save money due to her love of going to parties. Not much has changed there, wha?

She also states that she currently has a “steady boyfriend” without whom her social life wouldn’t exist.

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Frances lives with two other girls in a small flat in the city but hopes to move to the suburbs one day. 

The five-minute clip is a fascinating watch and you can take a look here. We wonder what Frances is up to these days and if she ever did move to the suburbs? If you know her be sure to give us a shout!

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