Dagenham gave more jobs to the Irish than any other factory in Europe

O’Grady’s Irish bar rests on the High Road in Seven Kings near Dagenham.

Situated between a sweep of takeaways and convenience stores, the pub is part of a low-rise hinterland that housed many of the 50,000 people who worked in the nearby Ford Motor Company in the 1950s.

Places like Seven Kings were powered by the car manufacturing plant that beat a 24/7 industrial symphony, spitting out more than 10 million vehicles, from the Zodiac to the Cortina, and the Capri.