Unskilled labour in Dublin: its housing and living conditions

Abstract

Perhaps the greatest difficulty in the way of the social reformer is his lack of adequate information. He perceives, as all, who are not blind or deaf, must perceive, that all is not well with the commonwealth, that large numbers of the population live starved and stunted lives, that, despite our triumphs in science, our increased power to control the forces of nature, this old world still contains a greater amount of human suffering and squalor than seems consistent with the general development of the twentieth century. The Lusitania and the slum, the aeroplane and the tenement house, the boy scout and the street arab, contrasts such as these are to be met with on every side. Glaring social evils stare us in the face, yet the problems connected with them must be approached very warily, lest the effort to do good may bring about a greater harm. If we are to play the surgeon, we must study the anatomy of the body politic. The paper to be read this evening will illustrate a phase of life in the city of Dublin, the life of the class generally described as unskilled labour.