Young Dublin Skinheads, Ireland 1973

Young Dublin skinheads describe how their look, dress sense and sometimes boisterous behaviour can mean they are misunderstood.
Shortly after being asked to leave the park at Saint Stephen’s Green some Dublin skinheads talk about public perceptions of them and why they have been given a bad name.
They don’t like skinheads. Anything with wide gear on the minute they see it.
Saint Stephen’s Green is the skinheads’ daily hangout, as they do not have anything else to do. According to them, they get picked on everywhere they go and are singled out for general mistreatment by the Gardaí. In addition to all this, getting a job is difficult, especially when a prospective employer does not like your address.
They say to you where do you live? You say Sheriff Street. Ah well you can call back again we might have a vacancy for you.
But are skinheads really involved in gang fights? They are, say one, when people mock them because of the clothes they choose to wear,
He goes down, gets a gang, he comes down, says he wants to have the fella out that slagged him, right. Then he starts chickening out. What’s he supposed to do, get slagged all the time when they’re on their own?...This is all a style.
Not everyone is against them, as one passerby comments,
The poor old skinners, they get a raw deal... I don’t like to see guys victimised for the establishment.
This episode of ’Hindsight ‘n Things’ was broadcast on 3 August 1973. The reporters are Peter McNiff and Larry Masterson.
’Hindsight ‘n’ Things’ was a series of magazine programmes from RTÉ’s Religious Programmes Department exploring ideas in religious and social matters. ‘Hindsight’ was first broadcast on 6 July 1973 and was presented by Sean Egan.

[@MASONComedyInc2013]

That’s my dad speaking at 4:08. The tall dude. He was 16-17 at the time. He remembers watching it in a pub when it was first aired. That was the only time he ever saw it. He forgot about it. Fast forward 46 years to when he’s sitting down drinking coffee scrolling through Facebook. He clicks on a video from the RTE Archives titled ‘Dublin skinheads in the 70’s’. A young man walks through the gates. It’s him. He spits out his coffee. Not many people have photographs of themselves from that era never mind high quality film footage. It was great to see. Everyone who watched it thought I travelled back in time.

[@frankman9598]

brilliant. story

[@MrGavinore]

Brilliant

[@The000clash000]

Love it! Does he know how the other lads got on?"

[@adamganjaman2275]

That's great man i recently got a video sent to me of my dad and his friend being interviewed by rte at slane in 86 was great to watch

[@laurenceegan6136]

My ears pricked up when they mentioned Sheriff Street, because my dad came from there, and lived there at the time; he would have been 21 when this was recorded, and so a bit older than these lads.

[@mick3001]

Its funny that they are getting grief for how they are dressed when by today's standard they are all very well turned out.

[@bettywilkie4773]

What srandards are they?

[@Jk_feugo]

@@bettywilkie4773 today’s standard relative and compared to what people similar in age wear now VS the 70s which is tracksuits, runners and hoodies. People of the same age would view how the youth dress today as respectable but maybe the older generations would view the standard of dressing today as unacceptable or untidy looking.

[@lasertree505]

Yeah these skins knew how to dress now some there is toughfies rappers wannabes dress in puma tracksuits and and Binbag jackets and runners bought by their dads credit card

[@mrtulipeater]

Each has a collar shirt.

[@tireachan6178]

@@bettywilkie4773 careful now Betty pet. Don't be upsetting yourself

[@CDash162]

“If you have a job, what are you doing in the park?” I think he has a right to be in the park.

[@harryknackers7892]

He should have asked the questioner the same thing.

[@CDash162]

@@harryknackers7892 Yes Exactly.

[@orangewelliesinc2836]

Yeah, especially as it was a Saturday.

[@kennethmacalpin7655]

Yeah why should parks only be for unemployed people? If anything they should be for employed people because their tax money pays for them.

[@leannedunne1831]

Imagine being one of the fellas in the video and randomly coming across this on youtube all those years later. It would be great to look back on

[@patrickr6505]

Yea I wonder did they ever see it?

[@janehedgehog1016]

I'd say they ended up getting their arses raped in the joy , and got hooked on drugs or drink and died young . Hopefully someone will prove me wrong , but I doubt it .

[@-BuddyGuy]

One of them is called Dirty Michael there are videos of him still hanging around Dublin the rest all died of cardiac arrest during a particular shocking greyhound race result that they all lost their dole on

[@roxfoot]

Comment here is on just that,

[@banjodeano2202]

a great bunch of lads, nothing wrong with them, just young lads having a bit of fun. We have all been there

[@jimberkt]

The two lads on either end are so eloquent, sharp and insightful, is sickens me to think that justt by virtue of where they were born so many opportunities were closed off to them and the few there were open were likely for menial labour on which their potential would be totally wasted. The same is happening today, probably even worse. Many of the people we despise in society or look down on for public brawling or drug addiction could have been enriching our society had they only been born in a different area.

[@burntbacon7995]

Official Ireland has made careers out of the misery of what it refers to as the lower-order. Social workers, police, lawyers, probation officers, child protection workers. These so-called helping professional careerists have nothing but contempt for the lower-order. The RTE interviewer sees these young men as wasters sucking off the nipple of the welfare state, which he is taxed to entertain.

[@liamoloveboxing6844]

Only in Dublin people are called skinheads when they have a full head off hair 🤦😂

[@skmcc9252]

I thought that! These look like English boot boys or bovver boys to me.

[@deletebilderberg]

They’re having a day off 🤷‍♂️

[@jimmy4428]

Like that “Baldy” Mcdonagh fella with his full head of hair 🤣🤣

[@theeggtimertictic1136]

Exactly ... the clue is in the name.

[@frankzappaspussy7362]

not nowadays .. anyone can "identify" as anything..

[@MrDazaska7]

Even back then west brit journalists antagonising our youths. Fair play to them they spoke their minds

[@Minime163]

Loved when he tried to catch the young lad out by asking him why he wasn't working today and the lad just told him its Saturday I have the day off. Jesus those neighbours of ours would be dangerous if they had a brain

[@keithsstepdad]

@@Minime163 correcting him on the pond throwing aswell was great, the "journalist" framed it as if they wanted to throw a random person in the water

[@nigefal]

He is West Brit why because he sounds educated? Says more about you than him I think!

[@keithsstepdad]

@@nigefal yeah, sounds educated but is actually a predatory liar who hides behind a suit and a posh accent. The kids here are probably more virtuous than this guy

[@MrDazaska7]

@nigefal intelligence is a sovereign right not a narrative of schooling from history books that was not true. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I didn't ask for yours but thanks for sharing.

[@freespeechisneverwrong9351]

For those of you who think these skinheads have long hair and shouldn’t be called skinheads. The style in 67-69 was very short hair. For many who got their haircut they also got their ear clipped by their parents. Chatting to some original skinheads they said most only ever got their hair cut once. The term skinhead became synonymous with a certain style and the name stuck. It progressed to Suedehead (slightly longer hair) to Smooths and then bootboys. To add to this the term “skinheads” is used in the film “Carry on at your Convenience” as Sid James and gang are thrown out of a beachfront attraction for causing trouble. The term had gone beyond its original meaning of just short hair.

[@johnmcgahern3946]

'67-'69? This is '73

[@freespeechisneverwrong9351]

@@johnmcgahern3946 A mate of mine in London was second generation Irish and a skinhead in London. He came to Ireland with some friends in 75 and was amazed to see skinheads on O Connell bridge. The skinhead look lasted well into the mid 70’s in the North of England and Ireland but was completely gone by 73 in trendy London.

[@psychedelicpython]

I was wondering why they were called skinheads. Here in the U.S. skinheads are young men who shave their heads completely and usually have tattoos on their heads and faces, some tattoos relating to the gangs they belong to.

[@plokijmkjnmk7825]

The RTE guy is more concerned about skinheads the way they dress and if they are working or not. When one of them mentions that he cannot get a job because of his address, which of course is discrimination, Mr RTE himself doesn't seem all that bothered.

[@germpore]

I totally recognize that block along St. Stephen's Green - it looks pretty much the same nearly 50 years later.

[@afrosteeve]

Real Dubs have such a wonderful wit!

[@sabinamccaul586]

Whats most remarkable about this is its 1973....the language. They spoke for 6 mins not one F bomb. What has happened to the language in Ireland. Even tourists comnent on it. Most cannot speak a sentence now without dropping the F bomb multiple times.

[@MrGavinore]

😂😂😂

[@mattressmccabe1686]

Yeah it's fucking disgraceful

[@chriskinsella4311]

I don't know what you're fucking on about.

[@renegademaster32]

Do u know wat,, ur fucking right 😂😂😂

[@susankent7481]

Bad language is just a load of old bollox

[@keithcommins]

They are all grandfathers now, how time flies.

[@damienmeeley9236]

Dublin in simpler times.

[@gilactico]

More like simpletons in Dublin times

[@brianboru7684]

@@gilactico simpleton yourself

[@gilactico]

@@brianboru7684 yes perhaps an unfair comment. At least they were probably less of a menace to society than some of the teen gangs today.

[@littlebrayutd]

Dublin before the drug epedemic and gang culture

[@o-o2399]

@@littlebrayutd yup no one to get rid of them either.

[@kildare97]

Excellent footage! I wonder why it's so rare to find footage on subcultures in Ireland throughout the 20th century.

[@finolaomurchu8217]

They're grand young fellas, not my idea of a skinhead. I would have thought they're mods. I need to see the footwear.☘

[@dublinairportplanes]

considering they are well into their mid 50s or early 60s now lol.

[@29memyselfandi]

I agree, definitely mods.

[@29memyselfandi]

Paul I suppose they might have felt like they were skinheads but they didn’t dress like them. The skinhead had a cropped tight haircut and usually wore tight fitting clothes, often denim, usually doc martens, etc. These boys have far too much hair to be skin heads. The tall fella looks like a rocker. The lad on the left that does most of the talking has a mod haircut. The other lads just have normal haircuts. My guess is that as this seemed to be from a time when the whole scene ( mods, skin heads, punks etc) was just beginning this was just a bunch of lads who were young and a bit rebellious and still working out what they actually were or what scene they were part of ( if any) It’s a lovely snapshot in time anyway. I wonder what the lads are up to now.

[@finolaomurchu8217]

@@29memyselfandi Yes I wonder too. Fine young men, I hope they have lived a good life, and they will have many more to come.🧚‍♂️

[@misst.e.a.187]

Skins migrated to suedes (mods). All about the look. Bet they were wearing Docs & Levi's, maybe Ben Sherman's. I see a Harrington - or a good imitation. Yep, they look like workingclass lads of the time

[@Liberty_Freedom_Brotherhood]

All these young lads will be about 65 now. It would be interesting to track down the ones that are still around and see what they ended up doing throughout their lives.

[@mazz9328]

I live in Italy but listen a lot to RTE radio. There's a wonderful employment project afoot between the biggies in central Dublin and the inner city (among which Sheriff Street so these guys grandkids) whereby young people from this area are trained with a view to working for the majors. The 1st batch are already in, working in Google and the likes. I heard a young lad interviewed with his great identity clear in his accent who's now working for one of the biggies. They've got ambition and drive. Inner city Dublin is a treasure trove and not just for humour and craic. I was borni in Rathgar and went to school with lots of girls from "de bildins", Hollyfield and Mount Pleasant in the 60s. They were grey times with no prospects. Harness the grand energy of these people and Dublin will soar again and NOT thanks to Dublin 4,6 or south Dartland!

[@iKicKzz1]

More of this kind of footage. Love seeing this kind of look at people in Ireland back in the day

[@nigefal]

I enjoyed this same as any era 'we are stopped for nutthin'. Loved the fella's comment at the end when he was asked what would he be good at. 'Holding their money'

[@stykemccormack3741]

If they are skinheads then we all need to visit specsavers

[@upthedubs1000]

I’d love to see those in the video being interviewed now.

[@sgu00dir]

love how the crowd gathers slowly behind!!

[@react--]

Boot boys not skinheads.

[@cremedelacreme12]

The days when the "Culchie" was blamed for stealing the jobs,before the Foreigners arrived😆

[@paulgalligan1916]

😂😂😂😂 its funny cause its true lol

[@ultimate.phoenix]

Poxy Culchie 😂😂

[@bekabeka71]

🤣🤣🤣😂

[@EmmettW2k10]

Country men built every city

[@paulgalligan1916]

@@EmmettW2k10 fair few of them alright 👍 but not all together true.

[@DashDrones]

The lad covering his face sounded just like Conor Mcgregor

[@NolTee2]

Ya haha

[@jayday4795]

who the fook is that guy

[@themookshit]

almost like he is Irish

[@Sticher34]

@@jayday4795 the general

[@jayday4795]

@@Sticher34 no lol

[@jamesfagan7823]

They have amazingly long hair for skin heads

[@brianboru7684]

Their hair is short for 1973, they would have had short cropped hair a few years before, but the fashion changed to suedehead to long haired boot boy by then.

[@jamesfagan7823]

@@brianboru7684 thanks for the information

[@conorh4882]

@@brianboru7684 cmon lads this is KZbin, we're expecting a fight here

[@glennoc8585]

@@brianboru7684 like the bay City rollers

[@brianboru7684]

@@glennoc8585 Yes, the Bay City Rollers based their image on boot boys. These lads would be probably be more likely fans of Slade though.

[@8nansky528]

I ADORE READING

[@gungagalunga9040]

Plot twist the camera shy guy with the hat was John Walters

[@TheBenzer9]

Liam gallagher

[@beaviskeavis]

No it’s eamon dumphy

[@gungagalunga9040]

@Sallow The Jugger Where's your joke Dangerfield?

[@businessworkseries]

Incredible footage.

[@dizseb6541]

Cant believe the video quality is that good

[@tomthumb3500]

Harmless enough considering what was going on in Ireland in 73 it’s mild enough. The kid on the right doing all the talking seems very bright I wonder what became of him...

[@paulgalligan1916]

Was thinking the very same thing

[@Fishamble]

The guy on the left?

[@glennoc8585]

Joined Westlife

[@declancaffrey3556]

Turned into Larry Murphy

[@edwardspearing5148]

We all live in the jacks in Stephens Green.. Northside letchykos

[@DashDrones]

These lads are in their 60s now, I wonder if they're watching this lost classic.

[@misst.e.a.187]

I wonder if they're bald 😂

[@kollusion1]

Love your vids CR. Cheers.

[@Steve14ps]

An old style 'Telefon' kiosk and CIE bus in the background if you are in to that sort of thing!

[@Steve14ps]

@Davy GN’R All icons of the 70s

[@Steve14ps]

@Davy GN’R What became of us all? I remember those Chopper bikes. I also remember those zip front cardigans, they came in the colours of your favourite football team, you were supposed to look tough wearing them, well me and my mate tried to!

[@df289]

Trendy lads , sharp-dressing there.

[@johnharvey3748]

‘Why dress like that?’ It’s a movement. A cultural identity. A suit and tie lies inside the lines drawn by an Oxbridge government. In my opinion.

[@mylesfleming5208]

"We did nuttin." Famous last world's from every Dub

[@stephanvenner2939]

"Where have all the Bootboys gone,...?"

[@StirlingVoid]

Ffs! A group of young lad's with no youth facilities to go to? Go to the park and they get hassle of the Garden and the knobstick interviewing them. 😜

[@StirlingVoid]

Garde not garden, fck

[@bop141]

The way the go on. Feels like i know them boys 😂😂

[@michaelquirke1]

Skinheads? Just a bunch of kids, harmless kids!

[@kimurajack8364]

Crazy to think these lads are probably in their late 60's right now.

[@kojack57]

I hope these young fellas escaped what was to come to Dublin by way of the Dunne family which devastated not only individuals but entire families, communities and took the life of so many of that generation and continues to do so to this very day. Dublin lost a lot of her youth and character thanks to the scumbag dealers and the inept politicians of the day and indeed those of today who have as much blood on their greedy blood stained hands. It's nice that they got to retire on our dime and live long lives while the city decayed and families buried mothers, sisters, brothers, son, daughters. My stomach turns when I think about it. By the standards of today these kids are middle class.

[@djsolace8085]

Ah what was it Dunnes father said his sons were Doing community a services selling Death to people destroyed lives and wrecking family’s life’s bought nothing be hurt and sorrow to family’s doors

[@saoirse32anois]

Very well said, and unfortunately very true.

[@78bollox]

The hobo fella sounds like Eamonn dunphy after a few

[@pmacc3557]

Be great to see these boys now if they still around

[@janehedgehog1016]

Just looking at the chopper bike behind them ar 0:130 brings back memories . Just simpler times 🤗🤗

[@ultimate.phoenix]

That was strange, skinheads with no skinheads, ex hippies with hats covering their faces. And culchie wars, like a world apart from the Junkie filled Quays and large parts of Dublin where a Dublin accent is becoming rare.

[@nealmceneaney3771]

These lads are in their 60s now. Sitting quietly in their livin rooms

[@cityboy9301]

Mitching off to see a Dana concert. No doubt

[@Discover-Ireland]

Great honest times. If ya got in a fight ya threw a few slaps ,,and it was all over there was no hair pulling that time. Only the girls pulled hair. I was a punk one month,, then a mod another month ,,my mate was a boot boy,,Dr Martin’s and red socks lol pair of jeans about 8 inches short just to make sure you showed the red socks. Man those were the great years and we never knew it at the time.

[@Minime163]

I was only a kid at the time but remember the boot boys and skinheads well with the docs and short troursers

[@55ablebof]

@@Minime163 'Where have all the bootboys gone'? Slaughter and the Dogs

[@Discover-Ireland]

@@Minime163 Boot boys never to be seen again.

[@TheBenzer9]

Unbelievable nearly fifty years ago..

[@CallemJay_McNeill]

This channel has some amazing content, keep it coming please 😁

[@Niall-q4r]

Goodtimes Growing up in Dublin ❤

[@MagicofIreland]

Patronising broadcaster/ interviewer, offensive demeaning body language, pointing his finger

[@conorh4882]

Seemed there was two, one seemed better than the other.

[@richiehoyt8487]

Yeah, he was a snidey prick and the camera man was a sneaky prick. Although way I remember it, the bootboys -in Cork anyway- were little shits; mind you, I was just a small kid then- but yeah, funny the business about the pond, I remember being dangled over The Lough, a big well-known pond in Cork by a bunch of 'em. (The 5 star boys maybe?) To be fair, they didn't actually drop me in but when you're 5 or 6, pretty terrifying! Love the hippy, by the way - the natural prey of skinhead- types. Fair minded to a fault, public defenders one and all! Mind you, the RTE Crew would've treated him like a scumbag as well, so, you know, solidarnösc and all that!

[@thesatisfiedcustomer4869]

They are dressed more like mods than skins id have thought.

[@Irishmuffcabbagyurt]

The guy hiding his face with the hat is like Shady Ganley from Hardy Bucks.

[@crackheadbobby3764]

Brilliant

[@stinkytrouble]

Suedeheads and Bootboys, I would say ..

[@michaeljohnson5061]

Dont judge someone for the clothes they have on

[@michaelearthling]

if they searched the bottom of the pond in the park they'd find a lot of combs from 1973.

[@khiggins8733]

5:15 One of the Leddins from Sherriff St who was involved in the North City Centre gangland feud

[@conorh4882]

Was he holding the money for them?

[@littlebrayutd]

Steo leddin who got shot dead while asleep on a sofa

[@raysouthall143]

Don't look like skinheads to me,to much hair for a start Look more like mods.

[@stuarthanna3650]

well it was the 70s i suppose lol

[@mrbosh0115]

More like the Suedehead /Hard Mod look.

[@grenda5]

listen to their commentary, they seem like very intelligent young men.

[@eamondevalera3126]

Back when teenage lads were teenagers

[@Murch2013]

Wheres the skinheads?

[@libor741]

All the nosy passers-by in this clip. I guess we have smartphones and social media to keep us occupied these days.

[@johnpaulkelly6860]

I taught it was in relation too the hair 🤣🤣 and I'm going bald 🤣🤣🤣

[@eddiekearney7530]

What was Dublin in the rare ol' times

[@celticfire9881]

Is that outside St. Stephen’s Green?

[@garymccann5079]

yes

[@johnhitchcock5089]

They seem super serious

[@paulgalligan1916]

Ahh the lads back in the day wonder how they got on after this Anyone know? Deadly video yur man with the hat haha 😄 gas .. some characters in dublin..

[@paulgalligan1916]

@Frank Buenos lol he just appeared out of the bushes to defend the lads an that was it he was gone 😆 🤣

[@brianboru7684]

@2:05 a hippy defends the skinheads

[@The000clash000]

Trying to get in their good books 😆

[@ynwajft9612]

Our Dads always looked old

[@davidfoley3510]

Pretty tame stuff, a slow news day.

[@dopesensi]

Press trying to put words in their mouths as usual ! For anyone saying ""these are not skinheads" It's 1973 not 1983 - not all skins had a no.1 crop, some had side partings .

[@doyler120]

Great days 😊😊

[@raborian]

Hah..Some skinheads alright... with one of them a Bon Scott lookalike !

[@simonwhyte9305]

Have I missed something, they have full hair

[@staffy4389]

I thought skinheads shaved their head's , I was a skinhead in 74 , 76.. and now you tell me I didn't have to shave my head , 😂😂

[@Peter-gi3re]

I was 14 in 1973 and lived in Dublin at that time. I don’t think these kids were considered skinheads. More like Bootboys. Couldn’t really see what they were wearing...... possibly parallels and Doc Martin’s or black boots with steel pieces (can’t even remember what we called them) in the heels. When you were walking fast on concrete it made a great noise like the army was coming....... you were a “hard man” 😂 Term wouldn’t have quite the same meaning now.

[@freespeechisneverwrong9351]

Segs taken from the word “segments of steel”.

[@gregfowler957]

Very similar to original mods in there style

[@michaeldodd4045]

That Hat guy hiding sounds exactly like McGregor 😂😂😂

[@djsolace8085]

I’d say it’s McGregor uncle he would be about 70 now his was know for beating people up in Dublin nearly sure he beat bloke to death McGregor uncle😱😱

[@michaeldodd4045]

@@djsolace8085 haha

[@andyb7339]

Never seen skinheads with hair before.

[@mixterz1]

If these were the plague of society then god love our lot today.

[@khiggins7231]

Several of these guys went on to get involved in serious crime. One of them was shot dead in the Sherriff st feud a few years ago.

[@ben-ow3ow]

What’re their names

[@monkeyspanner8172]

Nice of the long haired man with the hat sticking up for the skinheads.

[@germpore]

@2:34 Daniel Day-Lewis, slumming?

[@blizzard5427]

Harmless lads

[@andrewg.carvill4596]

They're not skinheads. Bootboys rule, ok? Crombie, parallels, Doc Martens......

[@katoness]

A different time in Dublin to the counter culture of Skinheads say in the UK. For one thing Dublin was poor and probably couldn't afford the fashion items that UK skinheads had. As for the haircuts, probably had something to do with money as well. Still, fairly short for those times.

[@captur69]

George best behind the hat....

[@eurasianjaygarden1754]

Skinheads? They've got more hair than the Hair bear bunch?!

[@vilamor007]

Where are the skinheads 😂😂😂

[@Roscoe.P.Coldchain]

Back in the day when the media was with the people

[@tomasotreasaigh111]

Way too much hair to be called 'Skinheads'... Whats the criteria?? "They have a head and they have skin!!!"

[@kevanhubbard9673]

The taller one looks,or looked, like Les McEwen the head Bay City Roller!

[@gazriley624]

They look more like Aussie Sharpies

[@GreasyBelcher]

2:09 Hands of a Werwolf. 👀

[@KingDonaldFirstofhisname]

Lmao