The Irish in Britain

Sir, – Joe Humphreys (“‘No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs’: How common were such notices in Britain?”, Unthinkable, April 29th) and David Moreau (Letters, May 1st) both rekindle the argument about the extent of anti-Irish signs in British lodgings, possibly up to the 1970s.

The curious thing is that no-one ever questions how, in the 1950s alone, some half a million Irish people emigrated to Britain and actually found lodgings.

This hardly supports the charges of widespread discrimination.

The real discrimination, of course, had already taken place in Ireland where, without signs, a “No Unnecessary Irish Can Stay” policy applied. – Yours, etc,