The average Irish family lived in a relatively small house during this decade. Space was at a premium and adults had to work hard to acquire luxury items. Here you can see a typical kitchen/dining-room table and chairs, a Singer sewing-machine which was used for mending and making new clothes and some typical household items from that era.

Most Irish homes had at least one radio in the '50s. As our own national TV station, Radio Teilifis Eireann didn't open until 1961, It wasn't until then that television sets began to appear in the corners of sitting-rooms, though homes on the east coast of the island could receive British programmes before then. Here we have a selection of radios and TV sets from that era, clockwise from top left: Roberts, Sony TV, Bush, Philips, Bush, Philco, Telefunken and Sylvania.

Philishave, Kodak Brownie box camera, record-player, egg-whisk, blades, clocks, a plastic chair and a few books of Green Shield Stamps.

In the bathroom, if you didn't find a bottle of Brilliantine Hair Oil, you would surely find a jar of Brylcreem. Below: An Arklow Pottery jug and basin; an iron last; a Scrubbs Ammonia bottle and a selection of 78 rpm records.