0:00:03 > 0:00:09In 1840, one man transformed travel in Britain and Ireland.
0:00:09 > 0:00:12His name was George Bradshaw and his railway guides
0:00:12 > 0:00:16inspired the Victorians to take to the tracks.
0:00:17 > 0:00:21Stop by stop, he told them where to travel,
0:00:21 > 0:00:24what to see and where to stay.
0:00:24 > 0:00:28Now, 170 years later, I'm making a series of journeys
0:00:28 > 0:00:31across the length and breadth of these islands
0:00:31 > 0:00:34to see what of Bradshaw's world remains.
0:00:56 > 0:00:59I'm now completing my journey across Northern Ireland,
0:00:59 > 0:01:01using my trusty Bradshaw's guide.
0:01:01 > 0:01:03I shall be sorry to leave the island of Ireland
0:01:03 > 0:01:06because of the warmth of the people that I've met
0:01:06 > 0:01:08both south and north of the border.
0:01:11 > 0:01:12On today's part of my journey,
0:01:12 > 0:01:15I'll be marvelling at a Giant's handiwork.
0:01:15 > 0:01:20It is the most amazing awe inspiring sight.
0:01:20 > 0:01:25Hearing how women, famous for their dexterity with the needle, built a city.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28If there wasn't a shirt factory, this would be a desert.
0:01:28 > 0:01:30And discovering how emigration
0:01:30 > 0:01:33profoundly shaped families and nations.
0:01:33 > 0:01:37When you went to America in the '50s, it was kind of goodbye forever.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40My Victorian guide book has brought me to a country
0:01:40 > 0:01:43that in the 19th century was one Ireland
0:01:43 > 0:01:46living under the rule of Queen Victoria.
0:01:46 > 0:01:49Starting in Dublin, where the first railways were laid,
0:01:49 > 0:01:50I've been led north
0:01:50 > 0:01:53along the unfurling railway history of this land.
0:01:53 > 0:01:55On this last stretch,
0:01:55 > 0:01:59I'm visiting tourist attractions that fascinated the Victorians,
0:01:59 > 0:02:03before exploring moving histories of industrial might and mass exodus.
0:02:08 > 0:02:12I shall be getting off at Ballymoney and heading for what Bradshaw calls,
0:02:12 > 0:02:17"the famous Carrick a Rede rock, which stands out 60 feet from the shore,
0:02:17 > 0:02:24"to which it is joined only by a slender rope bridge across the chasm 80 feet from the water.
0:02:24 > 0:02:27"A fine view from the heights above it."
0:02:27 > 0:02:32And that prospect has me in suspense.
0:02:34 > 0:02:40In Victorian times, visitors flocked to the Carrick a Rede bridge.
0:02:47 > 0:02:52But right from the early 18th century, this spectacular crossing,
0:02:52 > 0:02:54dangling over the roaring sea,
0:02:54 > 0:02:57was also key to the locality's industry and economy.
0:02:59 > 0:03:02I read Bradshaw's description of this bridge,
0:03:02 > 0:03:05but nothing prepared me for what it's really like.
0:03:05 > 0:03:08The plank that I'm walking on is so narrow.
0:03:10 > 0:03:14The fall beneath me is immense
0:03:14 > 0:03:19and the sea looks like it can't wait to gobble me up.
0:03:19 > 0:03:23And of course, the thing is shaking from side to side.
0:03:23 > 0:03:28And just to add to the fun, there's quite a stiff wind as well.
0:03:35 > 0:03:37Made it!
0:03:40 > 0:03:45Safely across, I'm here to meet Caroline Redmond from the National Trust.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48- Hello, Caroline. - Pleased to meet you. Welcome to Carrick a Rede island.
0:03:48 > 0:03:52I've just had the most exciting experience. It's thrilling, crossing that bridge.
0:03:52 > 0:03:56I'm glad you think so! It's a little bit hairy at times, isn't it?
0:03:56 > 0:03:59Now, my Bradshaws recommended that I come on the rope bridge.
0:03:59 > 0:04:03He talked about it being 80 foot above the water and having a fantastic view.
0:04:03 > 0:04:07So I imagine even in Victorian times, this was a very popular place.
0:04:07 > 0:04:08That's right.
0:04:08 > 0:04:12We have anecdotal evidence from the mid-1700s and early-1800s
0:04:12 > 0:04:16that this was even then starting to be something the tourists had to do.
0:04:16 > 0:04:18Scare themselves senseless!
0:04:19 > 0:04:23But this bridge wasn't built as a tourist attraction.
0:04:23 > 0:04:27For over 300 years, fishermen have been risking life and limb
0:04:27 > 0:04:32to cross to the island to catch migrating North Atlantic salmon.
0:04:32 > 0:04:38From March to September, the plump fish return from feeding out at sea
0:04:38 > 0:04:41to the Antrim rivers of the Bann and Bush to spawn.
0:04:41 > 0:04:44Intrepid fishermen would ready their nets
0:04:44 > 0:04:47all the way from the easternmost point of the coast
0:04:47 > 0:04:50to the mouth of the Foyle at Derry, Londonderry.
0:04:52 > 0:04:56The salmon, unable to go through the vent over which the bridge is,
0:04:56 > 0:04:59they would go round this rock in their road.
0:04:59 > 0:05:01Carrick a Rede rock in the road of the salmon.
0:05:01 > 0:05:05It meant they would run themselves into bag nets
0:05:05 > 0:05:08and be nicely caught ready for us to eat and that was a huge industry.
0:05:08 > 0:05:12At one point, there were upwards of 300 salmon per day being caught here.
0:05:12 > 0:05:17And you had to be able to get across to this rock to take advantage of where the salmon were running?
0:05:17 > 0:05:20Absolutely. When the tide would start, they would watch that
0:05:20 > 0:05:23and that would tell them when they could put the nets out,
0:05:23 > 0:05:27how far they could put the nets out to catch that tide and that run of salmon.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30In the 19th century, catching and trading fish
0:05:30 > 0:05:34constituted one of the area's primary industries.
0:05:34 > 0:05:38The landowners had the fishing rights
0:05:38 > 0:05:41and paid the fishermen a wage, and a bonus if the catch was good.
0:05:41 > 0:05:43Are there still salmon here?
0:05:43 > 0:05:47There used to be upwards of 300 salmon per day being caught here,
0:05:47 > 0:05:52but the last fisherman, Acky Colgan, in the very last season, which was 2002,
0:05:52 > 0:05:55barely caught 300 the entire season.
0:05:55 > 0:06:00So, yes, there are some salmon, but they're not in any catchable quantity.
0:06:00 > 0:06:02They're practically an endangered species.
0:06:03 > 0:06:08Salmon fishing provided a living on this coastline for 300 years.
0:06:08 > 0:06:11And although sadly that is no longer the case,
0:06:11 > 0:06:15the rope bridge has remained and just as in the Victorian era,
0:06:15 > 0:06:18adventurous tourists are drawn to its delights.
0:06:19 > 0:06:23We have anything from 240,000 to 250,000 a year.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26And they come, just as in Bradshaw's time, for the thrill
0:06:26 > 0:06:30of being 80 feet above the water and having that fantastic view.
0:06:30 > 0:06:32That's right. To have legs of jelly.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35To go up on to the island and sit for a while with the views
0:06:35 > 0:06:39over the seas of Moyle, Rathlin, Islay, Jura, the Mull.
0:06:39 > 0:06:41It's paradise.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46My time in this atmospheric location is up
0:06:46 > 0:06:50and I must gingerly return across the Carrick a Rede bridge.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55But I'm continuing on the North Antrim coast
0:06:55 > 0:06:58to head to Ireland's most iconic natural landmark.
0:07:00 > 0:07:04Next stop for me is the Giant's Causeway, which my Bradshaw says is,
0:07:04 > 0:07:08"properly so called, consisting of a low promontory or rocky pier
0:07:08 > 0:07:12"sloping into the sea for eight or nine hundred feet."
0:07:12 > 0:07:15I've never seen it before. I don't really know what to expect.
0:07:15 > 0:07:17I've always wanted to visit it
0:07:17 > 0:07:20and the best way to get there is by steam.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24Steam engines always attract me,
0:07:24 > 0:07:29but this line carried another revolutionary railway system in Victorian times.
0:07:29 > 0:07:32It once operated an innovative electric tramway
0:07:32 > 0:07:35taking tourists to the Giant's Causeway.
0:07:38 > 0:07:42I'm joined on my journey by heritage consultant, John Bustard.
0:07:43 > 0:07:45This is a charming railway. What is its history?
0:07:45 > 0:07:49The history of the railway dates back to 1879
0:07:49 > 0:07:53when a plan was put forward by William Acheson Traill
0:07:53 > 0:07:57to the Board of Trade to put in a fabulous hydro-electric tram.
0:07:57 > 0:08:02Hydro-electric? Meaning that falling water produced the electricity?
0:08:02 > 0:08:05It was the first hydro-electric tram in the world, yes.
0:08:05 > 0:08:07A rail carrying 250 volts
0:08:07 > 0:08:10naturally put some local Victorians in fear for their lives.
0:08:10 > 0:08:16To prove its safety, the crafty Mr Traill came up with a cunning plan.
0:08:16 > 0:08:20The story goes that Mr Traill arrived in rubberised boots
0:08:20 > 0:08:24and actually bared part of his anatomy and sat on the rail
0:08:24 > 0:08:26to prove that this wasn't a danger.
0:08:26 > 0:08:30He didn't go up in smoke and it convinced the Board of Trade that it was OK to operate.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33What they didn't know was that he had his own men running trams
0:08:33 > 0:08:36at other parts of the line to take the pressure off.
0:08:36 > 0:08:39According to accounts from his daughter,
0:08:39 > 0:08:43when he was asked if it hurt he said, "Yes, it hurt like blazes!"
0:08:43 > 0:08:49The tramway ran for 65 years, eventually closing in 1949.
0:08:49 > 0:08:53The line reopened a decade ago and just as in the Victorian era,
0:08:53 > 0:08:57it ferries eager tourists like me to the Giant's Causeway.
0:08:59 > 0:09:01That was great. Thank you.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08Reputed in folklore to be built by a giant,
0:09:08 > 0:09:12the Causeway's interlocking honeycomb of basalt columns
0:09:12 > 0:09:14captivated the Victorians.
0:09:14 > 0:09:18Renowned author William Thackeray described it as looking like,
0:09:18 > 0:09:21"The beginning of the world. A remnant of chaos".
0:09:24 > 0:09:26It's the most amazing, awe inspiring sight.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29I had no idea what to expect.
0:09:29 > 0:09:31If you don't believe it was created by a giant,
0:09:31 > 0:09:33what's the other explanation?
0:09:33 > 0:09:37The volcanic activity of the Tertiary period over 60 million years ago
0:09:37 > 0:09:42was when the lava flow hit the sea and cooled very quickly.
0:09:42 > 0:09:45Essentially, that crystallised the rocks
0:09:45 > 0:09:47into the various shapes that we see.
0:09:47 > 0:09:51This rock you're standing on, originally, when the tectonic plates would have moved
0:09:51 > 0:09:55would have been probably as far away as Sub-Saharan Africa.
0:09:55 > 0:09:59My Bradshaw's guide doesn't always get things right, so tell me if this is true.
0:09:59 > 0:10:03He says, "There are 40,000 dark basalt pillars, mostly five or six sided,
0:10:03 > 0:10:08"while some have only three and others have as many as nine sides."
0:10:08 > 0:10:10- Is that true?- That's true.
0:10:10 > 0:10:15Although there were only 39,998 rocks the last time we counted!
0:10:16 > 0:10:20The Victorians shrewdly marketed the Causeway as a tourist attraction,
0:10:20 > 0:10:22fencing off the rocky splendours
0:10:22 > 0:10:26and charging a not inconsiderable entry fee of two shillings.
0:10:26 > 0:10:30A tea room was erected, stalls lined the pathway down to the causeway
0:10:30 > 0:10:33and local guides conducted tours.
0:10:33 > 0:10:38Thackeray hated the clamour of guides, boatmen and vagrants and lamented that,
0:10:38 > 0:10:40"if, as no doubt will be the case,
0:10:40 > 0:10:44"the Giant's Causeway shall be a still greater resort of travellers than ever,
0:10:44 > 0:10:48"the country must put policemen on the rocks to keep the beggars away,
0:10:48 > 0:10:50"or fling them in the water when they appear."
0:10:52 > 0:10:56Why do you think the Victorians were so fascinated by sights like this?
0:10:56 > 0:11:01I think it was the curiosity they had for geology and for landscape.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04The period they were in, the world had opened up quite a lot
0:11:04 > 0:11:08and so many wonders were being shipped in from all over the world.
0:11:08 > 0:11:11To find things like this actually within the UK
0:11:11 > 0:11:13was quite interesting in its own right.
0:11:15 > 0:11:19This fascinating place is full of wonderful geological features,
0:11:19 > 0:11:21such as the Giant's Organ,
0:11:21 > 0:11:25whose array of stone pipes would look at home in a cathedral
0:11:25 > 0:11:30and caused Bradshaw to describe the area as a "remarkable coast".
0:11:39 > 0:11:43It's been a great day on the northern shores and it's not over yet.
0:11:45 > 0:11:47I'll make one more stop on my journey
0:11:47 > 0:11:50before I retire for the evening.
0:11:50 > 0:11:52I'll be getting off at Bellarena.
0:11:52 > 0:11:57My destination is Dungiven, home to an important Irish clan.
0:11:57 > 0:12:02And as I head for my overnight stay, a song is in the air.
0:12:07 > 0:12:12In his guide, Bradshaw mentions the O'Neils,
0:12:12 > 0:12:15just one of many clans who ruled the area for centuries.
0:12:15 > 0:12:19Another was the O'Cahans and I've come to Dungiven Castle
0:12:19 > 0:12:23to meet historian John Hamilton to discover more about them.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28- John.- Hello.- What should I know about Dungiven?
0:12:28 > 0:12:33It was one of the seats of the O'Cahan clan who dominated this area for many centuries.
0:12:33 > 0:12:36There's one little thing about the O'Cahan clan that you might not realise.
0:12:36 > 0:12:39They're known worldwide because of a song.
0:12:39 > 0:12:42- The song being?- Danny Boy. - Danny Boy.
0:12:42 > 0:12:46It takes you right back to the start of the 1600s
0:12:46 > 0:12:49when the clan system was falling apart.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52The local piper, Rory Dall O'Cahan, tried to write a tune
0:12:52 > 0:12:56that would sum up the parting, people going away, things falling apart,
0:12:56 > 0:12:59but the hope that some day they might come back together.
0:12:59 > 0:13:01According to legend,
0:13:01 > 0:13:05Rory Dall O'Cahan was mourning the confiscation of family lands
0:13:05 > 0:13:08and the destruction of the clan system,
0:13:08 > 0:13:10which brought to an end the line of O'Cahan rulers.
0:13:10 > 0:13:15- It's a lament. It's a really sad, emotive tune, isn't it?- It is.
0:13:15 > 0:13:19The thing was, he tried to write the tune but he couldn't get it.
0:13:19 > 0:13:22So he fell asleep on the banks of the River Roe
0:13:22 > 0:13:26and when he woke up in the morning, there was this harp playing itself.
0:13:26 > 0:13:29That tune was a gift from the fairies.
0:13:29 > 0:13:32I think this is a slightly tall story!
0:13:32 > 0:13:35Am I right that Danny Boy is also known as The Londonderry Air?
0:13:35 > 0:13:38Many centuries later, into Victorian times,
0:13:38 > 0:13:41a lady heard the tune being played by a piper
0:13:41 > 0:13:44and she published it through a Dublin publisher.
0:13:44 > 0:13:46He called it The Londonderry Air
0:13:46 > 0:13:48because he'd got it as an unnamed tune.
0:13:48 > 0:13:52It then went round the world and over in Colorado,
0:13:52 > 0:13:56and English lady heard it being played at a gold camp.
0:13:56 > 0:13:59She wrote it down, sent it to her brother in England,
0:13:59 > 0:14:03who already had a set of words which fitted the tune perfectly.
0:14:03 > 0:14:05The two came together and we have the tune today,
0:14:05 > 0:14:09The Londonderry Air and the song, Danny Boy, known worldwide.
0:14:09 > 0:14:12But it all goes back to the O'Cahan clan and their lament.
0:14:12 > 0:14:14It does indeed.
0:14:14 > 0:14:16The old O'Cahan chiefs are buried
0:14:16 > 0:14:19just a few minutes' walk from Dungiven Castle.
0:14:19 > 0:14:24And as I turn in for the night, I shall listen for the pipes calling
0:14:24 > 0:14:27from "glen to glen and down the mountain side".
0:14:36 > 0:14:39A new day and sadly, my final one in Ireland.
0:14:39 > 0:14:44So I'm back on the tracks and heading towards my last destination.
0:14:47 > 0:14:48What's in a name?
0:14:48 > 0:14:53The city where I'm headed now, some call Derry and others, Londonderry.
0:14:53 > 0:14:55Both names occur in Bradshaws.
0:14:55 > 0:15:00Nowadays, the difference can be regarded as politically significant.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03I'd better use both names with equal emphasis.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09In fact, there's a story I was told about a train some years ago.
0:15:09 > 0:15:13The nationalist guard announced that it was going to Derry,
0:15:13 > 0:15:16so the unionist driver refused to move.
0:15:16 > 0:15:18Tell me, do you think it matters
0:15:18 > 0:15:22what we call the city where we're headed now?
0:15:22 > 0:15:24To some people, it does.
0:15:24 > 0:15:25Are you one of them?
0:15:25 > 0:15:26Not really.
0:15:26 > 0:15:29I was brought up here in the village of Eglinton
0:15:29 > 0:15:33and as a child, we called it Derry.
0:15:33 > 0:15:36The Troubles came and it got more political.
0:15:36 > 0:15:37People took sides.
0:15:37 > 0:15:40Some people call it Derry, some call it Londonderry.
0:15:40 > 0:15:42It doesn't really matter.
0:15:42 > 0:15:43That's what I'm asking you.
0:15:43 > 0:15:48Well, it's always been Londonderry for me, so I call it Londonderry.
0:15:48 > 0:15:52Some other people might call it something else because they want to,
0:15:52 > 0:15:55but to me, it's Londonderry.
0:15:57 > 0:15:58Derry or Londonderry
0:15:58 > 0:16:00is the second largest city in Northern Ireland.
0:16:00 > 0:16:05The River Foyle intersects it, with the old walled city,
0:16:05 > 0:16:08one of the finest examples in Europe, on the west bank,
0:16:08 > 0:16:10and waterside on the East.
0:16:10 > 0:16:11The London prefix was added
0:16:11 > 0:16:18after Derry was granted a Royal Charter by King James I in 1613.
0:16:22 > 0:16:26The city retains its beautiful fortified walls.
0:16:26 > 0:16:30It withstood the siege of the Catholic King James II.
0:16:30 > 0:16:32Unlike most history in this city,
0:16:32 > 0:16:35that remains contentious to this day.
0:16:37 > 0:16:41The city has been at the heart of religious and political turmoil for centuries.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44From Catholic King James's encirclement
0:16:44 > 0:16:46of the Protestant population,
0:16:46 > 0:16:51to the sectarian violence of the Irish Civil War in the 1920s.
0:16:52 > 0:16:56In the 1960s and '70s, the city was once more the flashpoint
0:16:56 > 0:16:59of disputes between nationalists and unionists,
0:16:59 > 0:17:03and on Bloody Sunday in 1972,
0:17:03 > 0:17:0714 were killed when the British army fired into a crowd.
0:17:09 > 0:17:14But in a city that suffered so much, the history of one industry
0:17:14 > 0:17:17offers examples of the people's fine spirit and resilience,
0:17:17 > 0:17:19away from political struggles.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26My Bradshaws tell me that the people here about,
0:17:26 > 0:17:29were principally employed in the linen trade.
0:17:29 > 0:17:32That began a long history in the city of involvement in textiles
0:17:32 > 0:17:35and the common feature of all those industries,
0:17:35 > 0:17:38was that they employed principally women.
0:17:41 > 0:17:44Weaving linen was a hugely important industry
0:17:44 > 0:17:46in the 18th and 19th centuries.
0:17:46 > 0:17:50But as Belfast became a centre for production from the 1830s onwards,
0:17:50 > 0:17:55Derry lost out and found itself with a plentiful supply
0:17:55 > 0:17:59of unemployed, skilled women hungry for work.
0:17:59 > 0:18:03As British cities grew fast and demand for clothing escalated,
0:18:03 > 0:18:06the factory system was gaining ground and in the 1850s,
0:18:06 > 0:18:11the sewing machine was invented, giving rise to shirt manufacture.
0:18:13 > 0:18:15It flourished well into the 20th century
0:18:15 > 0:18:19and at Austins, the world's oldest independent department store,
0:18:19 > 0:18:21I'm meeting Jeanette Warke and Avril Campbell,
0:18:21 > 0:18:25who both worked in shirt-making for many years.
0:18:29 > 0:18:31What was life like in the shirt factories?
0:18:31 > 0:18:35I found it, you know, all the companionship,
0:18:35 > 0:18:38the fun and the banter and working with the other girls,
0:18:38 > 0:18:40it was just great.
0:18:40 > 0:18:42Everybody shared their problems.
0:18:42 > 0:18:45Girls from every part of the city.
0:18:45 > 0:18:48So, you had girls from both communities?
0:18:48 > 0:18:49Oh, yes.
0:18:49 > 0:18:51You were nearly all ladies. Is that true?
0:18:51 > 0:18:52That's true, yes.
0:18:52 > 0:18:56Was there a tradition in the city of women being in employment?
0:18:56 > 0:18:59- Yes, there was.- There was no jobs for the other men.
0:18:59 > 0:19:01There was never jobs for men.
0:19:01 > 0:19:05Men mostly stayed at home and looked after the kids.
0:19:06 > 0:19:09During Queen Victoria's reign, a female workforce
0:19:09 > 0:19:13powered industrial development and the city's prosperity.
0:19:13 > 0:19:17Shirt factories dominated the city and its industry was once claimed
0:19:17 > 0:19:20to be the largest of its kind in the world.
0:19:21 > 0:19:24How important was shirt-making to the city?
0:19:24 > 0:19:26Very important.
0:19:26 > 0:19:30It was the most important industry
0:19:30 > 0:19:32and that's where the money came from.
0:19:32 > 0:19:36If there wasn't a shirt factory, this would probably be a desert.
0:19:36 > 0:19:38There would be nobody here.
0:19:39 > 0:19:43At the peak, there were 44 shirt factories in Derry,
0:19:43 > 0:19:46with an industry employing a remarkable 18,000 people,
0:19:46 > 0:19:49whose products were sold worldwide.
0:19:49 > 0:19:52- The shirts from the city were definitely perfection.- Quality.
0:19:52 > 0:19:54It was the stitching.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57Every stitch had to be perfect on those shirts.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00If you had a Derry shirt, you had a quality item.
0:20:00 > 0:20:06I remember the girls used to put their name and address on the shirts.
0:20:06 > 0:20:08Slip little notes in the pockets.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11They hoped that if a nice gentleman bought the shirt,
0:20:11 > 0:20:13they would get in touch.
0:20:13 > 0:20:18I'm sure there was a few marriages made from a shirt from Londonderry.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21When I went down in the middle '50s,
0:20:21 > 0:20:26there were enormous great cast-iron irons which weighed a tonne.
0:20:26 > 0:20:29And it was lit with gas.
0:20:29 > 0:20:31It was used for making toast for breakfast.
0:20:31 > 0:20:33They got brown paper,
0:20:33 > 0:20:37put bread between the brown paper and sat down on top.
0:20:37 > 0:20:41It was the most gorgeous toast ever you could eat.
0:20:41 > 0:20:43- We weren't supposed to do that, either.- No!
0:20:43 > 0:20:46Ruins the iron, ruins the iron.
0:20:46 > 0:20:48The girls did work very hard, I must say that.
0:20:48 > 0:20:50I remember them working through their tea break.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53Working all the time, they never stopped.
0:20:53 > 0:20:55They worked really, really hard.
0:20:57 > 0:21:00In the 18th century, linen passed through Londonderry port
0:21:00 > 0:21:02and in the 19th and 20th,
0:21:02 > 0:21:07shirts were shipped to the world, most importantly America.
0:21:07 > 0:21:08But in the 1850s,
0:21:08 > 0:21:11the growth of Ireland's railway network
0:21:11 > 0:21:15provided the city with an important outbound flow.
0:21:17 > 0:21:20Bradshaws tells me that Londonderry carries on a considerable
0:21:20 > 0:21:24commercial intercourse with America.
0:21:24 > 0:21:26Being favourably situated for commerce
0:21:26 > 0:21:29and possessing an excellent, secure harbour
0:21:29 > 0:21:32with a splendid line of quays.
0:21:32 > 0:21:38But the most significant export from the city, was not goods, but people.
0:21:38 > 0:21:41Londonderry became one of the main ports in Ireland
0:21:41 > 0:21:44for emigration to the United States.
0:21:44 > 0:21:48To explore this poignant story, I'm on the banks of the River Foyle,
0:21:48 > 0:21:53in rather inclement weather, to meet genealogist, Brian Mitchell.
0:21:53 > 0:21:54Brian, hello.
0:21:54 > 0:21:55Hello, Michael.
0:21:55 > 0:21:59When did Derry become a major port for emigration to America?
0:21:59 > 0:22:04I would say from the early 1700s, when the first of the Ulster Scots,
0:22:04 > 0:22:06as they're known in America, the Scots/Irish,
0:22:06 > 0:22:08headed out of here in big numbers.
0:22:08 > 0:22:11It continued right though the 1800s and the famine years.
0:22:11 > 0:22:15In the peak years, some 12,000 were leaving here in sailing ships.
0:22:15 > 0:22:19Unprecedented famine afflicted impoverished Irish families
0:22:19 > 0:22:25in the 1840s, with the repeated failure of the staple potato crop.
0:22:25 > 0:22:27It's estimated that in a single decade,
0:22:27 > 0:22:30at least one million died of starvation
0:22:30 > 0:22:33and another million emigrated, primarily to the US.
0:22:35 > 0:22:38By the 1860s, the newly developed railway network
0:22:38 > 0:22:42assisted the unparalleled exodus from Ireland's shores,
0:22:42 > 0:22:45funnelling emigrants from the northern half of Ireland
0:22:45 > 0:22:47into the city.
0:22:47 > 0:22:49Do you think the railways capitalised on emigration?
0:22:49 > 0:22:52- Did they see a commercial opportunity?- I think they did.
0:22:52 > 0:22:56I think the railway companies and the steam-ship companies worked together.
0:22:56 > 0:22:59Effectively, you could've booked from any railway station
0:22:59 > 0:23:01in the northern half of Ireland,
0:23:01 > 0:23:04to wherever you wanted your final destination.
0:23:04 > 0:23:08For example, a potential emigrant from Clones in County Monaghan,
0:23:08 > 0:23:11could've purchased a ticket that would've got them to Derry,
0:23:11 > 0:23:14then on the boat to North America, New York, or wherever.
0:23:14 > 0:23:15Then a through passage to Chicago
0:23:15 > 0:23:18or the Prairies or wherever they wanted their end destinations.
0:23:19 > 0:23:22Victorian emigrants would arrive at the railway station
0:23:22 > 0:23:25to be met by an agent of the shipping lines.
0:23:25 > 0:23:29A tug would then convey them 18 miles downstream to Moville,
0:23:29 > 0:23:34where the transatlantic liners were moored in deep water.
0:23:34 > 0:23:36As the ships conveyed emigrants towards their new world,
0:23:36 > 0:23:41it was customary to light a bonfire on the hills above the city,
0:23:41 > 0:23:44a beacon that might well offer the passengers
0:23:44 > 0:23:48their last glimpse ever, of the Emerald Isle.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51I've seen pictures of these tenders. They're nearly lopsided.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54There's 300 to 400 people crammed into these tenders
0:23:54 > 0:23:55that were taking them down to Moville.
0:23:55 > 0:24:00Every week there was at least one ship from Glasgow or Liverpool
0:24:00 > 0:24:03coming into Moville, to collect immigrants.
0:24:03 > 0:24:06I've heard a figure that eight million people emigrated from Ireland
0:24:06 > 0:24:08between 1800 and 1922.
0:24:08 > 0:24:11When you consider the population of Ireland today is only six million,
0:24:11 > 0:24:14it gives you an idea of the scale of it.
0:24:15 > 0:24:19The determination, regrets and hopes
0:24:19 > 0:24:24of those 19th-century emigrants, can only be guessed at.
0:24:24 > 0:24:29But mass emigration continued well into the 20th century.
0:24:29 > 0:24:31As the weather clears, I'm meeting someone
0:24:31 > 0:24:35who can tell me of that mix of emotions, Bridget Makowski.
0:24:37 > 0:24:40I understand you emigrated to America.
0:24:40 > 0:24:43I did. 1955.
0:24:43 > 0:24:46I went out and I married an American.
0:24:46 > 0:24:47How had you met this American?
0:24:47 > 0:24:52He came up that river on the USS Johnson,
0:24:52 > 0:24:54an American Navy ship.
0:24:54 > 0:24:58I met him at a dance hall, I was 18 and he was 21.
0:25:00 > 0:25:01Me Daddy said it was OK.
0:25:01 > 0:25:04I went out on the SS Cunard line.
0:25:04 > 0:25:06I remember it well.
0:25:06 > 0:25:11Did you have an tremendous sense of adventure of starting a new life?
0:25:11 > 0:25:12I did.
0:25:12 > 0:25:16At that time, Derry was well depressed.
0:25:16 > 0:25:18Derry now is coming on grand.
0:25:18 > 0:25:21In them days, in the '50s, it was mass emigration.
0:25:22 > 0:25:26- There didn't seem to be any future. - Did you get much of a send off?
0:25:26 > 0:25:31Yes. There was always in those days, a thing called an American Wake.
0:25:31 > 0:25:33The family would all get together.
0:25:33 > 0:25:36In the '50s, it wasn't like now when you can come back and forth.
0:25:36 > 0:25:40When you went to America in the '50s, it was goodbye for ever.
0:25:40 > 0:25:43I remember my father when I was leaving,
0:25:43 > 0:25:46I was in the taxi and he kissed me.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49He says, "Goodbye, I'll hardly see you again."
0:25:49 > 0:25:51It turned out to be true.
0:25:51 > 0:25:53He died before I'd seen him again.
0:25:53 > 0:25:56Bridget's new life in the United States
0:25:56 > 0:25:58brought change on every front.
0:25:59 > 0:26:02I was born in a wee house.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05There were seven kids, my mother and father in two bedrooms.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08No inside toilet, no inside water.
0:26:08 > 0:26:11When I went out to the States, in Philadelphia,
0:26:11 > 0:26:13Leo's house, I thought they were millionaires.
0:26:13 > 0:26:17They had TV, a refrigerator, freezer,
0:26:17 > 0:26:20they all had their own bedrooms.
0:26:20 > 0:26:21After 18 years in America,
0:26:21 > 0:26:25Bridget and her husband returned to live in Ireland.
0:26:25 > 0:26:27Are you glad to be living now back in Derry?
0:26:27 > 0:26:30I'm just across the border in Donegal.
0:26:30 > 0:26:33I'm in Derry all the time, because Derry and Donegal,
0:26:33 > 0:26:35everybody in Derry has a granny in Donegal.
0:26:35 > 0:26:38I love it. I'm as happy as the day is long.
0:26:40 > 0:26:42Bridget's family is typical of many in Ireland,
0:26:42 > 0:26:44with relatives still in America,
0:26:44 > 0:26:47including one of her sisters and her son,
0:26:47 > 0:26:51who left in the 1980s recession to seek work.
0:26:52 > 0:26:57And echoing the past, recent figures show that as this recession bites,
0:26:57 > 0:27:00Ireland is once again seeing a large increase in emigration,
0:27:00 > 0:27:03with over 3,000 leaving each month,
0:27:03 > 0:27:06the highest figure in more than a century.
0:27:08 > 0:27:12My railway journeys across England, Wales and the island of Ireland,
0:27:12 > 0:27:16have brought me at last to the Peace Bridge in Londonderry Derry.
0:27:16 > 0:27:20Built as a symbol of hope to join communities together.
0:27:21 > 0:27:22My Bradshaw says...
0:27:22 > 0:27:25"To those who rush from the cares of business
0:27:25 > 0:27:27"to feast upon beauty,
0:27:27 > 0:27:31"and to inhale the fresh air of fields, lakes and mountains,
0:27:31 > 0:27:35"we recommend a trip to Ireland."
0:27:35 > 0:27:39And I would only add, that for all its gifts of nature,
0:27:39 > 0:27:41Ireland is made by its people.