1930 - 1940

News

1932 - Eamon De Valera is elected Taoiseach.

1936 - An air service between Ireland and Britain begins. The Iolar a 6 seat aircraft flies from Baldonnell to Bristol. At Foynes, on the Shannon Estuary, flying boats start a service between Ireland and America. These flying boats take off and land on water.

1937 - The airship Hindenberg explodes while attempting to land near New York. 36 people are killed.

The population of the Irish Free State now stands at 2,968,000. This is a slight decline on the population figure for the 1920's.

In America, the Depression means that many people lose their jobs. In Germany Adolf Hitler comes to power and starts building up the German Army. He claims that Germany has been badly treated. In 1939, Germany invades Poland and World War II begins. 

Eucharistic Congress.......O'Connell Street 1932

Talking Points

What special event is taking place?
What is the white structure (to the left of the photograph) going to be used for?
Is it still there today?
There is an advertisement on the building to the right - what is it for?
Trams are still in use - how are they different to those in use in 1900?
Are there any traffic lights? Why?

 

Home Life

1932 - Large crowds turn out for the Eucharistic Congress.

1937 - The Folklore Commission begins a project to collect folklore by asking the children of Ireland to collect and write down stories told by their parents and grandparents. All schools take part and the children (now grandparents!) write down the stories in copybooks which are then returned to the Folklore Commission. (It may be possible to view copies of these for your area at your County Library)

2 RN now acquires a recording machine. This means that the radio station can now broadcast recorded material.

Maltesers and Rolos go on sale!

1937 - Spam, made from pork and ham, goes on sale in the U.S. It soon becomes the world's best selling tinned meat. Spam is short for 'spiced ham'.

 

Achievements and Discoveries

1930 - The planet Pluto is discovered.

1931 - In New York, the Empire State building is completed. With its 102 floors and a height of 381 m, It remains the highest building in the world until 1972.

1938 - The German Konrad Zuse contructs the first binary calculator. It is regarded as the first working computer.

1939 - The first helicopter is built.

 

Sport

1932 - The Olympic Games are held in Los Angeles. Photo finish equipment is used for the first time in track events. Kusuo Kitamura of Japan, aged 14 years 309 days, wins the men's 1500m freestyle swimming gold medal.

1932 - Kerry footballers win four-in-a-row All-Irelands for the first time.

1936 - Olympics Games held in Berlin. Jesse Owens, the black American athlete wins gold in the 100m, 200m, long jump and 4X100m relay.

1939 - This year's hurling final becomes known as the "thunder and lightning final" when a thunder storm marked the clash between Cork and Kilkenny. This is also the day when war is declared in Europe.

The butterfly stroke is first developed by swimmers.

 

Fashion and Entertainment

The popularity of rayon (a new material) leads to a decline in the use of cotton. Zips come into use.

 

Links

To learn more about.....

The Olympic Games www.olympic.org/uk/games/index_uk.asp

Aer Lingus (follow History links from About Us) www.aerlingus.com

Fashion Between the Wars www.fashion-era.com