"Marland" wrote in message
...
Rod Speed wrote:
michael adams wrote
Rod Speed wrote

Doesnt explain why those in the worst of the slums arent wearing
suits.

Navvies could afford at least one new suit a year if that's all they
bought.

But that still doesnt explain why they would buy a new
suit at all instead of much more suitable work clothes.

I dont believe that navvies were weekly church attenders even in those
days.

Most of those Irishmen who came across to the UK to
work on construction projects were Roman Catholics
and Ireland then was still a deeply religious country.

I dont believe most of the navvies showed up in their church every week.

The church and observance of its rituals was as much
a reason for their existence as their own family.

Dont believe that with the navvies.

Ireland has only really moved away from the situation
where people based their lives on influence by the church
rather than the government in the past 2 or 3 decades.

Separate issue entirely to how many of the navvies
showed in in a roman catholic church every week
in a suit and used the older suits at work.

https://www.google.com/search?q=navvies+uk&tbm=isch
shows that very few of the navvies actually wore
suits its mostly just the supervisors that wore suits.