Richard Harris’ experiences of racism 'No Irishmen or black need apply', recalled by Limerick minister

THE RACISM experienced by acting legend Richard Harris in London was recalled at Limerick's first Integration, Health and Wellbeing Conference in the Strand Hotel.

The event, hosted by Limerick City and County Council, covered the two key themes of integration and inclusion from a local government perspective and migrant health and wellbeing.

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Minister of State of the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, Niall Collins, who gave the keynote address,  said 71 years ago, a five-minute walk from this hotel, a 24-year-old man with no formal qualifications packed his brown leather suitcase and said goodbye to his family.

“‘Go’, his father told him, like so many other fathers in those years. ‘For God's sake, just go’. The young man travelled by train to Dublin, then boarded the mailboat in Dún Laoghaire for Holyhead and finally London.

“In a series of interviews with the journalist Joe Jackson, that man, Richard Harris, tells of the racism he experienced in that city, in finding somewhere to stay, and securing work. No-one, he said, would employ an Irishman to do Shakespeare unless they were happy standing in the background and holding a spear,” said Mr Collins.

So bad was the situation that Harris’ first voice coach told him to “lose your Irish accent, or you won’t work”. The late Oscar-nominated actor also recounted when he was looking for a bedsit he saw a board with “no Irishmen or black need apply” written on it. Richard Harris took the board and kept it for the rest of his life. There were similar signs in America and Australia.

Mr Collins said we have the benefit of the actor’s biography to hear these stories - and more uproarious ones - but the original one, the story of how he left, is hardly remarkable for the time. In 1955, the year Richard Harris left Limerick, the Government Commission on Emigration reported that emigration had become “a part of the generally accepted pattern of life”.

“People left these shores with little education or skills, the benefits of free secondary education introduced by another Limerick man, Donogh O’Malley, yet to reap their benefits for the majority of society and Irish families.

“So bad was the economic situation that the old cliché, repeated in the Dáil itself, was that there would be no one left to emigrate.

“Not for a moment do I want to ignore the challenges that this country faces today.  But the fact that we are still here, as a free, prosperous country is a remarkable feat, and one which the people who left this State in search of opportunities in the last century, could hardly have envisioned. Now that others have come here to sustain and contribute to our society and economy is surely the most compelling symbol of how far we have come.” Mr Collins said the question for us, today, is how do we ensure the people who come here do not feel excluded as Irish emigrants so often did in the 1950s and the decades that followed?

“In this regard, the government’s commitment to developing a new national strategy for migration and integration has never been more important. It will address ongoing and emerging needs in our society – from workforce, economy, public services and for supporting positive community integration in Ireland. 

“To deliver the commitment in the programme for government, the strategy will be broadened to incorporate migration policy. In so doing, it will be Ireland’s first overarching whole-of-government policy for migration and integration.”

Contributors over the two days included officials from Limerick Council’s Integration team, Department of Justice, Midwest Simon, Local Government Management Agency, Limerick City Partnership, Ballyhoura Development, West Limerick Resources, Doras, Mary Immaculate College, and Jesuit Refugee Centre.

The event follows work on Limerick’s latest integration strategy beginning earlier this year, which will work towards creating a vibrant, inclusive and truly intercultural society in Limerick.

Local Authority Integration Teams were formally established and resourced almost two years ago and affirm the important role Limerick City and County Council has to play in integration.