NEWTOWNSANDES
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By 1830 Ulster was in crisis. In the preceding 50 years she had experienced an unparalleled period of population growth which was reflected in chronic under-employment in agriculture, which was by far her largest employer. Farms had been subdivided to such an extent that the continued payment of rent depended on a buoyant linen industry rather than farm productivity.
The domestic linen industry was in rapid decline. Landlords were looking to ‘improve’ their estates. As a consequence, farm workers were being forced off the land but there were few signs that Ulster, apart from a fledgling flax spinning industry in Belfast, was developing an industrial base to employ them.
https://www.irelandxo.com/ireland/derry-0/news/ireland-sydney-100-days-letters-passengers?_sc=NDk4ODc2OCMxMjQ5MzQ%3D&utm_campaign=From%20Ireland%20to%20Sydney%20in%20100%20Days_copy&utm_id=181&utm_medium=email&utm_source=brevo
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The Great Famine in Kerry (Ardfert) 1847
February 16, 2023Written by Kay Caball
1 Comment
The County of Kerry suffered a drop on population of 19% between the Census of 1841 and the Census of 1851 as a result of An Gorta Mór – from starvation, disease or emigration. While this was the overall drop, it varied from from 52% drop in Killahan (or Dunquin 48%) to Kilflynn 9% (or Killarney 8%). Do you know what your Civil Parish suffered? See full list here.
Since last month (Jan 2023) we have fresh evidence from five Kerry Catholic parishes of the death rate and other first-hand accounts These were published in The Death Census of Black 47: Eyewitness Accounts of Ireland’s Great Famine (Open Access). I will summarise the five reports from Kerry over the next couple of weeks, with Ardfert to-day but I would strongly recommend reading the accounts of the Kerry parishes in full through this Open Access or your local library.
This particular survey into the progress of the famine throughout the country was conducted during the late spring of 1847 ‘as hunger and disease became commonplace across Ireland’. Intended as a national survey, it was organised by Daniel O’Connell’s association for Repeal of the Union. Local Catholic clergy compiled their own parish reports. The take -up was poor with only 100 Reports returned. Only five reports have survived from County Kerry: Ardfert/Kilmoyley, Ballylongford/Tarbert, Ballybunion, Castlemaine and Moyvane.
Ardfert & Kilmoyley, Kerry Diocese
While there is confusion about the accuracy of the 1821 and 1831 Census returns for both Ardfert and Kilmoyley
‘If we accept the 1831 and 1841 census figures at face value, then we would estimate a Catholic population of about 10,000 in mid-1845, falling back by almost 2,000 two years later. In a population of this size, we would expect to witness between 114 and 171 deaths during a normal six-month period. [Fr] O’Sullivan’s estimate for deaths during the period October 1845- March 1846 is slightly above the upper limit. According to his figures the mortality rate in the six-month Famine period was more than four times the ‘normal’ rate. What is certain is that the union was overwhelmingly Catholic, the Public Instruction Commissioners could only identify 120 Protestants (1.7 per cent) in the 1831 Census list. In 1841, 54 per cent of the housing was classified as fourth class and the female illiteracy rate was 79 per cent.’
The return for Ardfert and Kilmoyley was compiled by Revd. Jeremiah O’Sullivan, parish priest of the parish ‘since at least 1822’. Fr. O’Sullivan was a strong supporter for the rights of Catholics and ‘was alive to the dangers of creeping Protestantism’. There is an unflattering picture of Fr. Sullivan, who harboured an intense dislike for both Thomas D’Stack, then head teacher of the Ardfert School, and for the parents of the children attending that school. Fr O’Sullivan had no problem denouncing both Mr. Stack and the parents as ‘heretics’! As this argument is outside the report on the death rate, I must leave the reading of it to the actual book. Fr. O’Sullivan was a strong supporter of the Repeal movement which held a meeting in Ardfert in June 1843 attended by ‘twenty thousand’.
https://mykerryancestors.com/the-great-famine-in-kerry-ardfert-1847/
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In 1998, a group of Melbourne locals realised a dream to erect a standing stone on Williamstown’s foreshore – the Famine Rock – in memory of the Irish Famine orphan girls.
As the Great Hunger of 1848-1852 decimated the population of Ireland, with over one million deaths and two million emigrants forced to flee starvation, the Earl Grey Scheme contrived to bring orphan girls aged 14-19 from workhouses (poorhouses) across Ireland to Australia, to work as servants and help populate the new colony. During the years 1849-1851, some 4000 girls participated in the scheme, 1700 of whom came to Melbourne on six ships; Lady Kennaway, Pemberton, Diadem, New Liverpool, Derwent and Eliza Caroline.
https://tintean.org.au/2019/11/07/famine-rock-sentinel-stands-for-21-years-at-hobsons-bay/
AFTER THE FAMINE:
THE ECONOMY OF LIMERICK COUNTY AND CITY
IN THE 1850s
By
Laurence Fenton
(Researcher with History and Folklore Project, Limerick Civic Trust,
Sept. 2005 – Feb. 2006 & Jan. 2007 – May 2007)
Project Coordinator: David Lee
Assistant Coordinator: Debbie Jacobs
The Great Irish Famine of the late 1840s has been likened to a ‘holocaust that swept
through Ireland in those tragic years’. In Limerick reports of the Society of St
Vincent de Paul made plain the atrocious conditions that prevailed in the city, one
poor family living ‘in a dark garret, more like a dungeon than a human dwelling – a
poor girl in the last stage of consumption, bedridden for several months was seen in
one corner; in another the aged mother, paralysed, was lying on a small bundle of
half-manure (for it could not be called straw) without any covering; in a third place
was a wretched looking boy quite deaf and of no use or assistance to anybody.
Accounts from Croom told of ‘emaciated corpses, partly green from eating docks, and
partly blue from the cholera and dysentery’. Yet, in Limerick, as in the country as a
whole, the extreme ravages of the Famine years were followed by a period of
economic boom and the emergence of the modern Irish economy.
The bald figures tell much of the story of the transformation in Irish economy and
society during the second half of the nineteenth century. Large-scale emigration and
falling birth and marriage rates ensured a population which had plummeted already
from a high of 8 ½ million in 1845 to 6 ½ million in 1851 continued to decline,
reaching a figure of just under 4 ½ million in 1901. The population of Limerick went
from about 330,000 in 1841 to 262,000 a decade later and 146,000 by the time of the
first census of the twentieth century. The drop in the rural population was particularly
brutal and the proportion of people living in towns of 1,500 or more increased from
around a sixth to a third. Furthermore, the obliteration of the smallholder during and
after the Famine, allied to the indebtedness of the landlords, allowed for a
transformation in the pattern of landownership; in particular a grasping of position
and power by wealthier farmers and the emergence of a rural middle class. The total
number of farms fell by 15% but average farm size increased. However, it was an era
too of rising wages and living standards, of improved literacy, housing and longer life
expectancy.
Changes in Irish Agriculture
Agriculture in Ireland changed dramatically between the Famine and the First World
War. On the eve of the Famine tillage farming (wheat, oats, barley, potatoes and root
crops) was by far the dominant sector, contributing more than three-fifths to Ireland’s
total agricultural output.
4 However, a turnabout in the fortunes of pasture farming,
especially the raising of livestock, led by the turn of the century to a situation where,
Cormac Ó Gráda has suggested, even ‘the humble farmyard hen and duck were
adding more to agricultural output’ than wheat, oats and potatoes combined.5 All told,
between the 1850s and 1914, while cattle numbers rose by a third and the acreage
under hay increased by 75%, that under grain fell by 50%.
The great change in the orientation of Irish agriculture from tillage to pasture that
characterized the second half of the nineteenth century was set in motion during the
catastrophic years of the Famine. Between 1847 and 1852 the acreage planted with
wheat fell rapidly by more than 50%, from c.750,000 to c.350,000 acres.6 During
roughly the same period livestock numbers rose significantly.7
The drastic reduction
of the grain acreage was caused by a number of contributory factors, such as the
repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846 and the damage caused to harvests by the desperate
weather of the Famine years. However, of greater importance than any emotive or
political issue was the economic reality of altering market demand, the price of butter,
store cattle, mutton and other products of pasture farming rising by between 30-50%
in the twenty years after the Famine. This sharp increase was in large part a
consequence of the great demand for such produce in the buoyant and increasingly
accessible British market.8 Irish farmers responded logically and as the acreage under
corn declined that given over to hay and pasture rose commensurately. Indeed, in
contrast to the old slur that Irish farmers were inherently backward and slovenly,
modern historians have quoted approvingly the 1926 conclusion of Thomas
Barrington that ‘there is not a scintilla of evidence … to suggest that the Irish farmer
has regulated his productive activities other than in accordance with the economic
tendencies of his time’.
This trend from tillage to pasture was evident in pre-Famine
Ireland but the degree is disputed and ought not to be over emphasised.
While tillage plummeted and the livestock sector profited, dairying, the third main
strand of Irish agriculture, remained fairly steadfast in its importance to the
agricultural economy. The main product of dairying was butter and after a short-lived
depression in prices in 1849 the value of Irish butter rose dramatically, by as much as
45% between the early 1850s and early 1870s.
TEAMPALL Ban, Aspects of the Famine in North Kerry 1845/52, by John Pierse gives us a great insight into the famine period.
The book contains 282 pages with details and pictures of Listowel and district. John began the book by first researching the history of Teampall Ban, and then he looked at the workhouse, then the convent and finally attempted to understand what happened locally in the years around the famine. John has spent years researching material which will help us all to know more and understand better the years 1845 to 1852. The book has a fine index, sections cover potatoes failure in North Kerry, Death burial, emigration and evictions, folklore relating to the famine, Famine Relief Committees, Union Ledgers, Conditions in workhouse fever hospitals and relief works. Also covered Parliament Reports, Relief Collections list, Quakers, numerous letters and newspaper reports from the period.
The book also contains a host of illustrations, including workhouse, Pierce Mahony, Soup Boiler, Cross at Teampall Ban and a picture of Mother Mary Augustine Stack 1801-1888. Also among the many items is the letter of Fr John Long PP Murhur, Newtownsandes of 23 April 1847 and a list of subscribers from Knockanure and Newtown.
The Irish Famine and the Atlantic Migration to Canada;The Irish Ecclesiastical Record 5th Ser. Vol.69 October, 1947, pp. 870-882.; CMSIED 305023
The Great Irish Famine of 1847 and the Atlantic Migration
which it set in motion mark a turning point of paramount
importance in the history of the Catholic Church in Canada. The
distinguished historian J. H. Hammond in his monumental work,
http://www.dippam.ac.uk/ied/records/29620?s=
On leaving the quarantine station at Grosse Isle the fever ships
proceeded up the St Lawrence River into Lake Ontario. Whenever
they stopped to unload their passengers, typhus and dysentery
appeared in alarming proportions. It is true to say that not a
single rural district, village, farm or city in Upper and Lower
Canada escaped the ravages. Deaths in Quebec City numbered
1,137, including many of the inhabitants. Through the zeal of
the local clergy, Fathers McMahon, Cazeau and Baillaragean,
later Archbishop of Quebec, homes were found for 800 orphans.
Some were placed in St. Brigid's Home which for more than a
century has been a haven for the indigent. Montreal was a
second Grosse Isle. Here, at Point St. Charles, 11,000 lay sick
with fever. Terror spread throughout the populace. At Bytown,
now Ottawa, 1,000 were stricken; of these 200 died. At
Kingston, 4,326 were admitted to the hospitals and feversheds;
of these 1,400 died. At Toronto, where the authorities had time
to make preparations, the sick received better care.
Nevertheless, 863 died from the epidemic. At Hamilton, and at
St Catherines in the Niagara Peninsula, at London and Sarnia in
western Ontario, events followed the same course, though numbers
were smaller. Partridge Island, at the entrance to the harbour
of St. John, New Brunswick was a third Grosse Isle but with a
much lower death-rate. Of the 17,074 immigrants who entered
here, including 2,000 from Lord Palmerston's estates, 600 died
on the Island and 595 died in the city s fever-sheds.
EMIGRATION - IRISH PAUPER EMIGRANTS.
Irish Pauper Emigrants.; Hansard's Parliamentary Debates, 1884, Vol. 288, Series 3, Cols. 443-444; CMSIED 9804292
MR. JUSTIN M'CARTHY [McCarthy?] asked the
Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant
of Ireland, Whether his attention has
been drawn to a statement made by the
Philadelphia correspondent of The Times,
in a letter dated May 13th, to the effect
that several steerage passengers on the
steamer City of Rome, pauper emigrants
from the workhouses in Kerry, have been
detained at New York, in order that
they may be sent back to Ireland; and,
whether he will take any steps to
discourage the deportation of paupers from
Irish workhouses?
MR. TREVELYAN: I have seen
the statement referred to by the hon.
Member; but it is not the fact that any
workhouse inmates have been sent out
this year from the county of Kerry as
State-aided emigrants. All the
State-aided emigrants who went out in the
City of Rome were persons carefully
selected, who were going to their
relations or friends, having produced letters
of encouragement from them, and whose
journeys were paid for to the towns or
places where their friends lived.
THE IRISH IN AMERICA.
The Kilkenny Journal announces that Monsignor
Francis Maria Charboneue, Bishop of Toronto, Upper
Canada, passed through that city within the past few
days, and remained during his stay at the Capuchin
Convent, Walkin-Street, of which order he is a distinguished
member. He celebrated mass in the convent
Chapel a few days ago, and subsequently addressed the congregation,
and earnestly entreated the people, if
they could by any possibility remain in Ireland, not to
think of emigration, as it was almost incredible the
misery and wretchedness he constantly witnessed
among the unfortunate Irish emigrants.
WORKHOUSE
Area - KERRY (RC) , Parish/Church/Congregation - DINGLE
Marriage of MAURICE NELLIGAN of WORKHOUSE and BRIDGET BOURKE of HOLYGROUND on 19 July 1885
Area - KERRY (RC) , Parish/Church/Congregation - MILLSTREET
Baptism of DANIEL KENNEALLY of WORKHOUSE on 17 June 1900
Area - KERRY (COI) , Parish/Church/Congregation - KILNAUGHTIN
Burial of CHARLES MURRAY of GLIN WORKHOUSE on 7 February 1868
Area - KERRY (COI) , Parish/Church/Congregation - DINGLE
Baptism of ELIZABETH MASON of DINGLE WORKHOUSE on 2 October 1859
Area - KERRY (RC) , Parish/Church/Congregation - LISTOWEL
Baptism of MATHEW DONOGHUE of WORKHOUSE on 1 April 1883, of Matt Donoghue and Nora Nolan.
Area - KERRY (RC) , Parish/Church/Congregation - LISTOWEL
Baptism of MARY CRONIN of WORKHOUSE on 3 February 1884 of Michael Cronin and Joan Walsh.
Area - KERRY (RC) , Parish/Church/Congregation - LISTOWEL
Baptism of BRIDGET MURPHY of WORKHOUSE on 10 July 1855 of Ned Murphy and Mgt Kelly.
Area - KERRY (RC) , Parish/Church/Congregation - KENMARE
Baptism of MARY NR of WORKHOUSE on 11 March 1868 mother Mary Sullivan.
Area - KERRY (RC) , Parish/Church/Congregation - KILLARNEY
Baptism of JOHN GRIFFIN of KILLORGLIN WORKHOUSE on 27 December 1863.
More Here http://churchrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/details/88be420321763
Area - KERRY (RC) , Parish/Church/Congregation - KILLARNEY
Baptism of ELIZABETH STACK of KENMARE WORKHOUSE on 8 June 1861, Mother Mary Connor.
In the worst week of famine times, 66 people died in the workhouse in Listowel. Many more died on the roadside, in their houses or in the fields.
The workhouse was so overcrowded that every shed and outhouse was pressed into service as an auxiliary workhouse and many more of these auxiliary workhouses were set up in the locality.
The people were starving, yet the river Feale was teeming with fish.
3,000 people are buried in Teampall Bán graveyard. We know the names of only 3.
There is another Famine Graveyard at Gale.
The 4 Presentation Sisters did extraordinary good work sheltering, feeding and clothing the starving. Their role is often ignored by historians.
The present hospital chapel was part of the dining area of the workhouse.
Prostitutes and their children were segregated from other women and children in the workhouse.
The Famine lasted longer in North Kerry than it did elsewhere. It went on into 1850 and 1851.
Between 1845 and 1852 over one million Irish people died. At least 250,000 fled the country.
Dr. John J Kennelly, University of Alberta.
A 42 month-long research programme conceived by the M.S.Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai and the University of Alberta, Canada was signed recently to use agriculture along with other interventions to address poverty and malnutrition in three regions known for rich agro-biodiversity.
Support
The Canadian International Food Security Research Fund (CIFSRF) of the International Development Research Centre, Canada offered assistance to support this research project.
“The aim of the project is to study the enigmatic contradiction between prosperity of nature and poverty of people and to improve the agricultural and nutritional status of 4,000 small farm families in Kundura block in Koraput district, Orissa, Kolli Hills in Namakkal district, Tamil Nadu and Menangadi panchayat in Wayanad district, Kerala,” says Dr. John J Kennelly, Dean, Faculty of Agriculture, Life and Environmental sciences, University of Alberta.
Tribal communities
“Most of these families belong to the marginalised tribal communities. The project will assist them to increase farm productivity and off-farm income through appropriate participatory technological interventions, application of eco-technologies and ICT–enabled knowledge system, value chain and market linkage, and to build their capacity,” he adds.
These interventions may encompass strengthening crop-animal-fishery integration, improving the natural resource base supporting agriculture, addressing gender-specific drudgery, promoting home gardens and local crops to improve nutritional security at individual, household and community levels.
Process
The process may involve local institutions (panchayats, banks, co-operatives) and assist in making appropriate choices and decisions on sustainable management and adding value to social and natural capital.
For details contact: Dr. S. Bala Ravi, Project Director, MSSRF at sbala@mssrf.res.in and Dr. John Kennelly at john.kennelly@ualberta.ca
THE FAMINE Folklore from Murhur school In the year 1848 and 1849, the famine came to Ireland. Up to that time the Irish people had plenty of food. They had potatoes in abundance, plenty of pork, pickled beef, and ground their own corn at home so that each family was comfortably fixed. As usual in 1847 in the months of February and March each farmer set there own big garden of potatoes, but unfortunately the potato crop failed. The people started to eat the turnips and they had not even enough of them. The people grew sick and got all kinds of diseases including cholera. With that disease the people only lived a few days. They died in the fields and in the houses and several died on the roadsides. Big graves were made and all the bodies were piled in to together. An old woman in Listowel called Mrs. Hedderman said she remember seeing a light burning all night long to give light to the people who were burying the dead from night till morning. The English sent over some seed and the Russians sent corn meal. The people did not know how to use it. They were mixing it with cold water and eating it. In addition, it killed some of them. Told by Nurse Stack aged 62 of Moyvane Auction at Newtown sands on Thursday 30 Oct 1902 of 19 ac in four separate holdings of the late Rev M Dillon PP Newtown sands. East of road, north field, creamery field and bog garden. Any portion of fields needing drains have been drained by Fr Dillon. Bits and Pieces The Newtownsandes Creamery was established in 1895 was entitled to 18 years free rent after which £1.25 rent was payable. Local auctioneer M.J. Nolan conducted the sale. EMIGRATED: Edmund Dinneen went to America, his father Timothy is buried at Knockanure. Edmond had three sisters. Bridget Dinneen married Cornelius Mulvihill in 1862 and Catherine Dinneen married Roger Mulvihill in 1857. The third sister, Mary, married Patrick Enright of Tarbert in 1860. A brother, John Dinneen, was living in Glenalappa in 1892, two other brothers, Dan and Michael, emigrated. "St. Mary's County is where it all began," writes Thomas Spalding in the introduction to this book. "There was established the first Catholic parish, the first Catholic school, the first community of religious men in English-speaking America." Moreover, St. Mary's residents played a key role in the development of the Catholic Church throughout the whole of America, providing the spearhead of the westward expansion of Catholicism. In 1785, for example, the first of many Catholic families from St. Mary's crossed the mountains to find land in Kentucky, while a few years later, driven by economic necessity, others migrated to Georgia, Missouri, Louisiana, and Texas. So great was the number of St. Mary's Catholics who moved to Kentucky, in fact, that a diocese was created for them in 1808. These early families left a mighty progeny, and those of us today who seek ancestral connections will welcome the appearance of this book, for here are collected many of the earliest surviving records of the Catholic families of St. Mary's County, Maryland. The most significant portion of the work contains the marriages and baptisms from the Jesuit parishes of St. Francis Xavier and St. Inigoes, which, in the case of baptisms (1767-1794), give the names of children, parents, and godparents, and the date of baptism; and in the case of marriages (1767-1784), the names of the married partners and the date of marriage. Other records include congregation lists (1768-1769), rent rolls (various dates), births (various dates), subscribers to the Oath of Allegiance (1778), militia lists (1794), and voters' lists (1789-1790). Poor Law. The average size of the Irish Unions was about three times as large as the corresponding divisions in England. It is impossible for any board of guardians to manage efficiently, yet economically, a district of hundreds of thousands of acres. Out of 130 Unions in Ireland in 1847, 107 contained up-wards of 100,000 acres; and of these, 25 contained upwards of 200,000. In Munster and Connaught, where there was the greatest amount of distress, and the least amount of local intelligence available for its relief, the Unions were much larger than in the more favoured provinces of Ulster and Lein-ster. But it was in Cormaught that the over-grown bulk of these districts attained its greatest extent. The Union of Ballina, which contained a smaller number of persons fit to undertake its management than most of the other Unions in Ireland, comprised a tract of upwards of 507,000 acres; and here, in the deserts of Erris, distress wore its most appalling form. From several of the most suffering localities of this immense district, the poor-house was more than forty miles distant.* The great extent of the Unions, which naturally led to large electoral divisions, had also another injurious effect. It not merely left unrelieved the * The size of the unions and electoral divisions has since been considerably reduced. A commission was appointed in the year 1848, to enquire what altera- tion might be beneficially made in the number and boundaries of the poor-law unions and electoral divisions in Ireland. The report of the commissioners, which -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17 pauperism which existed, but it ultimately in-creased its amount. One object which it was sup-posed would be gained by the poor-law was, that the landlords would be induced to employ the labour-ers on their estates, in order to prevent them from seeking support from the work-house. Instead of having this effect, the pressure of the poor-rates in-terfered with the employment of labour, by lessening the capital of the employers, while the great ex-tent of the electoral divisions rendered the expect-ed stimulus ineffective. It was very discouraging to a landlord, after spending a large sum in wages, and successfully exerting himself to keep his own tenantry out of the poor-house, to find that his tax-ation was not perceptibly lessened; that the estates of the non-resident proprietors in the same elec toral division, on which nothing had been expended, was completed in Eighth-month, 1850, recommended an increase of 51 unions and 1478 electoral divisions, viz.:- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This arrangement has not yet been fully carried into effect, but several new unions and electoral divisions have been formed in accordance with it; so that the present number of electoral divisions amounts to 3439, constituting 163 unions. Of these, there are only nine which exceed 200,000 acres. When the changes recommended by the commissioners are completed, the largest Union, that of Kenmare, will be 198,145 acres; and the largest electoral division, that of Glenco, in the union of Belmullet, 27,218 acres; the average size of the unions being 114,963 acres, and of the electoral divisions 5,908 acres. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18 and which were rated on no higher scale than his, had sent in their swarm of paupers to devour the hard earnings of his self-denying industry. The restrictions which had previously existed on the importation of foreign grain had evidently an important influence on the condition of the people of Ireland. The natural laws which the All-wise Creator has impressed on human society, render us dependent on each other for the various wants of life. This dependance appears to apply in the case of nations as well as individuals. It is a wise and benevolent arrangement of Providence, that different countries should yield different valu-able products; and one of the effects apparently intended by this variety of production, arising from the variety of soil and climate, is the promotion of that friendly intercourse and exchange of commo-dities by which both parties are benefited. This intercourse tends to make nation better acquainted with nation, to remove prejudices, to counteract the disposition for war, and to bind together in one family the whole brotherhood of man. If the trade in corn had been free, and if the almost exclusive possession of the English market had not held out peculiar inducements for the culti-vation of wheat, we may presume that the attention of Irish farmers and landholders would have been given to other crops for which the soil and climate appear more peculiarly suited. Wheat would still have been grown, but the principal objects of the -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19 farmer's attention would have been oats, barley, green crops and flax; and even more care than heretofore would have been devoted to the rearing and fattening of cattle. The result would proba-bly have been the importation of wheat for the middle and upper classes; and of Indian corn for the use of the poor, and for the feeding of stock; while oats, barley, cattle, and flax, both raw and manufactured, would have been exported. A more extended commerce must consequently have existed with foreign countries. The price of food being allowed to sink to its natural level, would have placed bread and the other cereal products within the reach of a larger class of the people. The lower classes, being thrown less exclusively on the potato for support, would have consumed more oatmeal, and have learned the use of Indian corn; and for the distribution of these various articles of food, a larger number of dealers and a greater amount of internal trade would have been requisite. The want of a previously existing import trade in corn increased the difficulties of obtaining sup-plies from foreign countries. The restrictions were relaxed in the summer of 1846, and ceased entirely in the early part of 1847; but the effects they had produced could not be immediately removed. They had prevented the natural growth of trade, and a fully developed commerce could not at once be brought into perfect action. As soon as the B2 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20 demand for foreign supplies became urgent, a sud-den and general advance of freights took place. Vessels could not be obtained for less than double, and sometimes treble the ordinary rates. The difficulty and expense of importing food was thus greatly increased. "We are unable," wrote a valued American correspondent, in Second-month, 1847, "to send you all the food you require, for want of vessels. It is heart-rending to think that while our granaries are bursting with food, your poor people are starving." Under any circumstances, it is pro-bable that the failure of an important crop would have produced a considerable advance of freights, in the endeavour to supply the deficiency; but the advance would in all probability have been compa-ratively small, if a foreign trade in corn had already existed, and if the people of Ireland had been less dependant on the potato for support. After a short time, the high freights produced their natural effect of attracting large quantities of shipping to the con-veyance of corn, so that freights fell even below their former rates. The great increase in the consumption of corn required a larger amount of grinding power than had been previously in use. This produced a difficulty in some places, although the Govern-ment mills in England, and many mills in Ireland which had not been worked for a long time before, were employed for this purpose. The want of local dealers in food was also seriously felt in. many -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 21 parts of the country; it increased the necessity of public relief, and rendered the exertions for relief less effective, than if this natural machinery for the distribution of food had already existed. The Indian meal imported was also at first much less useful than it would have been, if the people had been previously accustomed to it, and had known how to cook it. Its excellence as food depends greatly upon the manner in which it is prepared; and the people, especially in the west districts, had little experience in the preparation of any food except the potato; and were unable to cook the Indian meal so as to render it either as wholesome or as palatable as it might have been. Hence they conceived a prejudice against it, as an inferior and unwholesome kind of food. Indian meal is used by all classes in the United States, and in this country its consumption has greatly in-creased already; it is therefore reasonable to sup-pose that the Irish would not have neglected it, if they had had opportunities, under ordinary cir-cumstances, of becoming gradually acquainted with its value. It could not have displaced the potato in the poorer districts of the west or south, where, from the difficulty of obtaining employment, and the absence of money wages, the peasantry for the most part lived on the produce of their own potato gardens; but it would probably have been used, to some extent, at least by the poor in those parts of -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 22 the country where the people were supported by wages paid in money. When the first and more partial failure of the po-tato occurred in 1845, the Government introduced a large supply of Indian corn. This was done with as little publicity as possible, in order not to dis-turb the usual course of trade. The corn was distributed through the Commissariat depots in various parts of the country. Such an attempt to introduce a new and cheap substitute for the potato, was perhaps the best measure which could have been adopted in this emergency, to obviate the injurious consequences of preceding legislation. In consequence of remonstrances in parliament respecting this action of the Government, the Treasury minute of "August 31st, 1846," was is-sued. By this minute, Government interference was confined to the western parts of Ireland, where very little trade in corn for local consump-tion had as yet existed. This proceeding did not check the operations of the existing trade in other localities, but it doubtless had some effect in re-tarding the growth of a new one, in those very dis-tricts where it was most required. Any adminis-trative interference with the natural course of commerce produces an apparent necessity for its continuance. The original restrictions on the im-portation of corn led to the interfereace in 1845; and the interference in 1845 rendered some repeti-tion in 1846 almost unavoidable. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 23 We have thus noticed some peculiarities in the condition of Ireland before the blight fell upon the potato, and have endeavoured to show their influ-ence in aggravating the consequent distress. A great part of the population were living in a state of extreme poverty. he laws relating to land were such as to discourage any general attempt at improvement. A large proportion of the land-lords were embarrassed, and in many instances they had ceased to reside on their property. The extent of land under the management of receivers ap-pointed bv the courts had increased to an alarming degree. From the poverty of the people living on potatoes grown in their own gardens, there were in many districts no retail dealers in food. Indian meal, which would have been an excellent substitute for the potato, had been so long systematically ex-cluded, that its use was unknown and its value dis-regarded. The poor-law contained no principle of expansion capable of meeting such a difficulty. Many of those who should have administered it were far away. The extent of the unions rendered the due administration of relief impracticable; while the poor-law taxation, by diminishing the funds applicable to the payment of labour, increased the amount of pauperism. Some of these circumstances appear to us to have been among the most influential causes of that depressed condition of the Irish peasantry, which forced so many of them to depend on the potato -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 24 alone for their subsistence; and this exclusive dependance on a single article of food greatly aggravated the consequences of the fearful blight of the potato; so that, while other countries expe-rienced the mitigated evils of a scarcity, we had to endure the intense sufferings of a famine. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER II FAILURE OF THE POTATO CROP- FORMATION AND ARRANGEMENTS OF THE RELIEF COMMITTEE. PARTIAL failures of the potato, and severe conse-quent distress in particular localities, have been of frequent occurrence in Ireland. The summer months were generally a time of considerable trial and privation to the peasantry; as the old potatoes were frequently exhausted before the new crop had come in, and the demand for agri-cultural labour at that season was usually slack. Any partial failure of the crop increased this dis-tress; and on account of the poverty of the con-sumers, and the costliness of the carriage of so bulky an article, the abundance in one part could rarely be made available to supply the deficiency in another. On three occasions prior to 1845, the distress thus caused amounted to famine. In the year 1739, a severe and early frost destroyed the potatoes in the ground, and very great suffering ensued. Considerable neglect of tillage appears to have taken place in the following spring, and the distress was thus prolonged for two years. Fever and dysentery, the invariable effects of famine, succeeded, and raged with unusual vio- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 26 lence in 1741. These diseases were peculiarly fatal, not only to the peasantry but also to the wealthier classes, and many persons of high social position were carried off by them. Considerable efforts were made in Ireland to alleviate the dis-tress. A large quantity of corn was imported from America, and soup kitchens were established throughout the country. It does not appear that this famine obtained much notice in Great Britain, or in any foreign country. Another period of distress occurred in 1822. The preceding season had been unusually wet, and the potatoes rotted after they had been stored in the pits. The loss was, therefore, not ascertained until the season was considerably advanced. The distress was very severely felt in all the western counties of Minister and Connaught. Fever soon appeared, and aggravated the sufferings of the people. The amount of distress produced extraor-dinary exertions to alleviate it. A committee was formed in Dublin, and sat at the Mansion House. The Lord Lieutenant placed at their disposal a con-siderable sum, which under former acts of parlia-ment had been left in his hands, and they received upwards of £31,000 in subscriptions. Central com-mittees were formed in the principal towns, and sub-committees in the several parishes of the distressed districts; and great exertions were made in the dis-tribution of relief. Parliament voted £300,000 for public works and other relief purposes, and also -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 27 appropriated £15,000 to facilitate emigration from the south of Ireland to the Cape of Good Hope. The announcement of this visitation excited much sympathy in England. A committee was formed in London, and subscriptions to the amount of £310,000 were raised. Of this sum, about £44,000 was collected in Ireland. A plentiful harvest ren-dered a continuance of their labours unnecessary, and it was then found that they had a balance in hands amounting to £77,074. This sum was sub-sequently granted to various societies, which had been established with a view to promote the permanent improvement of the people of Ireland.* In 1831, violent storms and heavy rains brought -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 28 upon the west of Ireland another failure of tbe potato, with its usual accompaniments of famine and pestilence. The distress principally affected the coasts of Galway, Mayo, and Donegal; but it was partially felt in other districts. On this occa-sion the potato had failed while in the ground, and the pressure was felt as early as the First-month of 1832, The English public, with ready sympathy, again came forward, and two committees were form-ed in London. The entire amount of subscriptions which these committees collected was £74,410. In Dublin, two committees were also organized; one at the Mansion-house, the other in Sackville-street. Their united collections amounted to upwards of -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 29 £30,000. Government also advanced £40,000, part of which was expended on public works, and part in the actual distribution of food. On this occasion also a plentiful harvest followed, and the distress was immediately relieved.* On several other occasions, subsequently to 1831, the Government found it necessary to advance money for the relief of distress. The aggregate amount of these advances was not very great, and public attention was not in any particular way attracted to the subject.+ The first appearance of the fatal blight on the -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 30 potato, which has since been so severely felt, was in the year 1845. Late in the autumn of that year, it was found that the potatoes were rotting. The early crop had been saved, but throughout the whole country a considerable portion of the late crop was lost. Much apprehension was excited, and a Government commission was appointed to investigate the nature and origin of the disease; but all their enquiries proved unsuccessful, and its causes continue to the present time to elude human research. The distress, however, was not very great. The yield had been unusually plentiful, so that the portion that remained was considerable. The grain crop had also been abundant. Strong hopes were entertained that the scarcity would be followed, as on other occasions, by a year of plenty. In the summer of 1846, the potatoes looked re-markably well, and there appeared every prospect of an abundant harvest, when it pleased an over-ruling Providence that almost the whole crop should be destroyed in one week. The failure of the potato was not the only loss. The wheat was barely an average crop, and the barley and oats were deficient. The money value of the loss in potatoes and oats was computed by the Government to amount to sixteen millions sterling. The announcement of this dreadful calamity did not at first produce the alarm which might have been expected. The idea of millions being reduced to starvation was too great to be quickly realised. Many believed -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 31 that the accounts of the failure were exaggerated, while others who knew that the crop was lost, per-suaded themselves that the consequences would not be so very serious. It was not long before all such doubts and hopes were dispelled. The ac-counts which came in from every part of the country gave full proof of the awful calamity of impending famine. A deep sympathy was aroused, and great anxiety prevailed to do something to relieve the rapidly increasing distress. As far back as the beginning of 1846, nearly £14,000 had been subscribed at Calcutta, when the intelligence of the partial failure of 1845 had reached India. The distribution of this sum, under the name of the Indian Relief Fund, commenced on the 24th of Fourth-month, 1846, and continued during the remainder of the year. The earliest association formed in consequence of the failure of 1846, was the Irish Relief Association, whose meetings were held in Upper Sackville-street. This society, whose exertions in the famine of 1831 have been already noticed, was reorganised on the 2nd of Ninth-month, 1846. The subscriptions re-ceived by them exceeded £42,000. The General Central Relief Committee, over which the Marquis of Kildare presided, was formed on the 29th of Twelfth-month. The contributions placed under their care amounted to upwards of £83,000, in-cluding a grant of £20,000 made to them by the British Relief Association. In the distressed dis- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 32 tricts Government offered to double the local sub-scriptions; and although many of the gentry, and others who could afford to do so, had liberally subscribed in the spring of 1846 to relieve the distress which then existed, they again responded with much liberality to the appeal made in the au-tumn of the same year. It is impossible to estimate the sacrifices and even privations, to which many of every class in Ireland cheerfully submitted, in their efforts to relieve the distress which surrounded them. In England, when the extent of the calamity was ascertained, a great and general sympathy was excited. The British Association for the relief of the extreme distress in Ireland and Scotland, was formed in First-month, 1847. The total amount of subscriptions received by them exceeded £470,000. Ladies also formed associations in different parts of Great Britain, some for supplying clothing, and some for promoting industrial occupations amongst the female peasantry. Before any committee was form-ed, as well as for a long time after, a large amount of private contribution was poured into every part of the country, chiefly through the agency of the clergy of the Established Church. It is not our province to record the noble self-denial shown in individual cases, or to narrate the unwearied exertions of the different associations in collecting subscriptions and distributing relief; yet we cannot avoid this passing allusion to these exertions, whilst relating our own part in the transactions of that eventful period, and -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 33 rendering an account of the execution of the trust confided to us. On the 13th of Eleventh-month, 1846, a meeting of members of the Society of Friends was convened in Dublin, to consider what steps were proper for them to take, and whether it was better for them to form a separate organisation, or to unite in a gene-ral effort. They determined on the former course, and agreed to form a Central Relief Committee in Dublin. The objects of this Committee were to raise a fund by subscriptions, which they might dis-tribute where relief was particularly needed; and to obtain authentic information respecting the cha-racter of the distress in the different localities, in order that the best means might be devised for its alleviation. For this purpose, twenty-one persons were then named, with power to add to their num-ber; to fill up vacancies from time to time, should they occur ; and to seek the co-operation of mem-bers of the Society of Friends in other parts, who should be associated as corresponding members, and should deliberate and act jointly with them as occasion might arise. In the selection of this Committee, care was taken to include some whose commercial pursuits had brought them into inter-course with distant parts of the country; for great difficulty occurred at the very outset, as to the agency by which relief could be administ BOSTON PILOT Hi, I'm from Ontario Canada. I'm having a little difficulty understanding what exactly Newtownsandes is. Is it a town, or a church parish or an area of land similar to our townships here in Ontario? My great grandfather, John Sweeney and his wife Margaret O'Connor immigrated from Newtownsandes around 1847. I think Margaret's mothers name was Catherine Sheehy. Thanks for taking time to read my email, hope to hear from you, sincerely, Donna (Sweeney) Lowry Boston Pilot Information Wanted Ads 12 July 1856. Of JAMES GRANT, who left Listowel [co. Kerry] 6 years ago. - Please address his brother, Michael Grant, Wappelo, Louisa County, Iowa. Knockanure Teachers Samuel Lewis in 1830 reports Knockanure had a small Thatched Church with a School attached, Griffith Valuation 1850 John Byrne had school valuation 10 shillings, Michael Mulvihill had school c 1834, Also hedge school at Trien and at Connors Gortdromagowna, 1868 to 1873 teachers Casey, Keane & Molyneaux, Boys school records burnt when school went on fire, 1874 to 1917 Maurice Casey, to 1923 Jer Carroll, to 1903 Elizabeth O Mahony, to 1918 Tim Sullivan, Later Hartnett for a short time, to 1919 Joan Flaherty, to 1923 Mary Mc Mahon, to 1928 Tom Callaghan, to 1933 Julia Flaherty, to 1953 Paddy Callaghan, to 1957 Miss J J Horan, to 1968 Miss M O Callaghan, to 1969 Cormac O Leary, to 1965 Kate Finucane, to 1972 Mairead O Callaghan, to 1990 Mary O Carroll, Moyvane Murhur Teachers 1850’s John Shanahan, Margaret Lawlor, Elizabeth & Alice Madden, Tom Enright, David White, Pat Shine, Elizabeth McCarthy c1863, Denis Connor, John Rourke, Jim Barry came 1880, Tom Carr, Dan Mulvihill, Girls’ School Joan Hederman to 1889, Bridget Shine to 1880, Joan Fitzmaurice to 1885, Lizzie Gleeson to 1926, Nora Scanlon to 1934, Elizabeth Nolan to 1946, Bridie Barrett to 1958, Mary B O Connell to 1964, Mary O Carroll to 1964, Boys School Some teachers: Robert Jones c1901, Dan Mulvihill & John O Rourke to 1904, Maurice O Claochlaighe to 1941, Joe Moriarty to 1930, Kathleen Mulvihill to 1945,Tim Buckley to 1941, Tom o Connell to 1944, Mary Shine to 1939, Sean Barrett to 1954, Padraig O Sullivan to c193?, Cormac O Leary to 1953, Mary B O Callaghan to 1971, Noel O Connell to 1961, Kilbaha Tom O Callaghan 1929 to 1944, Mary B Dineen 1929 to 1945, Mary Collins to c1951, Dorothy O Sullivan to 1964, Aughrim School c1850 under The Church Education Society & Rev R Fitzgerald, Samuel Lewis in 1830 reports: Near Newtownsandes Large School House erected at the expense of Fr J Long PP. The Board of Education allows £12 per year to support the School. Knockanure School Girls c1890. Brid Ahern, Mary Ahern, Mary Ahern, Ellie Ahern, Mag Ahern, Brid Buckley, Mgt Buckley, Eliz Buckley, Kate Buckley, Kate Broderick, Mary Broderick, Brid Broderick, Mary A Buckley, Kate Brosnan, Han Buckley, Mary Brosnan, N Broderick, Ellie Broderick, Ellie Barry, Joan Barry, Mgt Broderick, Mary Buckley, Nora Buckley, Han Collins, Mary Carroll, Mgt Collins, Ann Carroll, Mary Connor, Brid Costelloe, Mgt Connor, Han Connell, Ellen Costelloe, Brid Carroll, Julia Cronin, Jna Costelloe, Julia Collins, Mgt Collins, Mgt Cronin, Nano Cronin, Mary Custelloe, Ellen Connor, Mgt Custaloe, Nano Connor, Nora Connor, Kate Connor, Brid Carroll, Jna Connor, Mary Carmody, Mgt Connell, Brid Creed, Mary and Kate Costelloe, Kate and Brid Connor, Mary Doolin, Mary Dowd, Mary Drewry, Kate and Jna Dillon, Mary Dee, Nora and Mgt and Ellie Dillon, Kate and Bridget Driscoll, Mary Dore, Mgt Dee, Mary ,Jna and Brid Donaghue, Ann Dowd, Mgt Dore, Cath, Mgt, Ellen, Han, Brid, Jna, and Mary Enright, Ellie Egan, Mgt Egan, Mgt and Kate Enright, Jna Flaherty, Han Fitzgerald, Mary Fealy, Nora and Jna Flaherty, Mgt, Mary, Liz, and Ellen Fitzgerald, Brid Flaherty, Kate Fealy, Brid Fitzgerald, Han Fitzgerald, born c1886, Han and Cath Flaherty, Mary and Mgt Finucane, Mary Fitzmaurice, . Knockanure National School Opened 26-4-1874. Teachers c 1890 were Julia Flaherty, Joan Mc Mahon, and Mrs Casey. Notes taken at National School Exhibition held in Listowel. Nora Shanahan, born 1914 Clounmacon, Mary Walsh Beale born 1919.Ann Moloney Castlegrace Co Tipperary born 1916.Peggie O Dell born 1922, Rita Shine Creamery Managers daughter. Sarah Barry Newtownsandes came in 3rd Class, Mgt Barry b1916. Joan Horan and her sister came to Knockanure their Guardian a Pensioner. Noreen Hayes School Teacher Knockalucka 1926. Mary Kennelly Shopkeepers daughter 15-10-1918 in 5th Class. Mgt Horgan and K Sullivan at Knockanure School 1931, and 1941 respectively . Mary Synan b1924, Mgt Synan b1922. Mary Kennelly Finuge 1915. Nora and Mary Kennelly born Finuge 1915 . Knockanure Tithe List c1825. Keylod and Gortaglanna John Sweeney ,John Sandes, Tom Connor, John Moran, Con Keane, Pat Moore, Tom Kelly, John Goulding, ? ? ,Tim Ahern, ? Connor, James Leahy, John Goulding, ? Moloney, ? ? , Mc Mahon, Tom & George & John Sandes, James Nash. Carrueragh And Coilagurteen Denis Mahony, Tom Lister, Fitzgerald & Dore, Widow Larkin, Francis Carroll, David & ? Flynn, Tom Nolan, Joe Sweeney, Widow Stack, Garrett Stack, John Relihan, Pat Stack, Wm. Connor, John Griffin, Tim Leahy, John & Widow Leahy, Tom Costelloe . Kilmeaney Geo Gun, Mrs Raymond, Widow Sullivan, Ml & Widow Relihan, ? Pope, Wm. Moore, D Finucane, John & Phil Costelloe, Pat & Dl Burns. Buckley & Finucane, Ml & John Costelloe. Gortdromagowna John Kelly, James Fitzgerald ? ,John Cregan, John Mc Mahon, Ml & Tom Mulvihill, John Buckley, Ml Scanlon, Widow Stack O Connor, Widow Connor & Son, Dl & Eamon Griffin, Tom & John Connor, Wm. Stack, Tom Mulvihill, Rob & Tim Leigh, Widow Sullivan , Dl & P Connor & W Buckley, Tim Leahy , Darby Connor. Knockanure 1850 Index Gortdromagowna. Ml Moore, Tom Kelly, Mgt Sandes, Tom Connors, Sylv Casey, John Connors , Jer Connors, Hugh Golden, Tom Woulfe, Lar Buckley, John Buckley, Mary Connors, Tim Flaherty, Jer Kennelly, Jer Carroll, Wm. Moore, Mce Neville, Jer Golden, John Golden, John Connors, Jas Connors, Con Connors, Tom Lyons, Robert Hunt, Cath Stoke, Ml Hunt, Tim Hunt, Denis & Dan Sullivan, Wm. Flaherty. Keylod Ml Connors, John Sandes, Church, Pat Keane, John Byrne, Mary Dillane, Tom Moore, Mary Moore, Cath Connors, John Moran, Cath Connors, Wm. Sandes, John Golden, Batt Connors, Pat Byrne, Ml Nash, Tom Langan, Ml McCormick, Jer Dillane, Cath Lindsay, Ellen Enright, Ml Golden, John Kelly, Ed Dillane, James Dore, Ellen Mulvihill, John Stokes. Carrueragh Pierce Mahony, Mary Dore, John Kennelly, John Callahan, Rob Mahony, Dan Nolan, Con Costelloe, Tim Moloney, Ellen Larkin, Jas Larkin, Jas Leahy, Pat Stack, Pat Keane, John Flynn, John Doody, Tom Stack , Cath Stack, Pat Stack, John & Mary Nolan, Ml Dore, Garrett Stack, Tim , James & John Leahy, Wm. Lynch, Tim Madigan, Tom Leahy, Sarah Nolan, Joe Sweeney, Mary Nolan, Nora Finucane, Ml Relihan, Dan Carroll, John Carroll, Mary Enright , Mary Carroll, John Enright, John, Tom & Ellen Costelloe, Tom Corridan, John Relihan, Joan Pierce, Martin Enright. Beenanasbig Nora Connors, Mce Connors, Bridget Moore, John Stokes, Wm. Leahy, Tom Mahony, Ellen Mulvihill. Kilmeaney Tim Jones, Mary Kelly, Ml Stack, John Kelly, Dan Cronin, John Scannell, Stephen Pope, John Murphy, Ml Scanlon, Wm. Moore, Wm. Lunham, Tom Paradine, John Relihan, Tom Finucane. Trien. Pierce Mahony, Tom Sullivan, Nora Mc Mahon, John ,Dan & Denis Lyons, John Carroll. Shanacool : Wm. Lunham. Lissaniskea John Sandes, Tom Connors, Batt Connors, John Connors, John Leahy, Tom Leahy, Grave Yard, John Connors, Wm. Leahy, Ml Connors, Con Lyons, Pat Hanrahan, Pat Kelly, Wm. Sandes, Terence, Tim & Johanna Mc Mahon, Pat Buckley, Pat Carroll. Notes April 12th 01 Kilmorna born Priest Monsignor Tom Moloney died 16th April 1986. He went to San Diego in 1946. In 1955 his Bishop asked him to start a new Parish in Riverside where Fr Moloney Est. Our Lady Of Perpetual Help Church, supervised the construction of a new School, Convent Church and Rectory. His Grandmother was Hudson of Kilbaha. 2001 : Fr William Moloney born 160 yrs ago son of Tadhg Moloney and Kate Enright of Coilagurteen. Fr Moloney spent his life ministering on the Gold Dust Trails. He died at Sutter Creek 1903. DILLON PATRICK Born 17 March 1850 Ordained 25 June 1876 Died Born - Janemount, Kerry, Ireland. Seminary Education - Maynooth Ordained - Maynooth. 1876 Seminary of Pastoral Theology 1877-1878 Mount Carmel, Salford. 1879 St Mary's Bolton. PV1-159 states he was not affiliated. Not in 1880 Almanac, presumably recalled to his own Diocese. DALY PATRICK Born September 1857 Ordained 15 August 1881 Died 25 June 1910 Born at Duagh in Co Kerry, Ireland, Fr Daly was educated St Brendan's College, Killarney and the Irish College at Salamanca, Spain. With the permission of the Bishop of Kerry, he came to the Salford diocese in 1880 for five years, but was considered too young for ordination. He was ordained in 1881, and appointed assistant at St Anne, Blackburn, 1881-1888. He was then appointed founder rector of the new mission of St Joseph, Longsight, Manchester, which replaced the mass centre operating in the Industrial School founded by Fr Quick. In late 1909 his health gave way, and he died of a painful disease in June 1910. Fr Daly had a nephew and great nephew as priests in the Diocese. 23 Nov 2000 Death has taken place of Sister Loretto Flaherty born 1918 daughter of Ned and Catherine Flaherty of Tubbertureen. Sr. Loretto joined Sisters of Charity of Jesus and Mary in 1937 she spent a lifetime working at Holymount Lancashire her passing will bring sadness to all who knew her. June 21st 01 Death of Fr Edward Godfrey born Farranfore son of James Godfrey and Elizabeth O Connor of The Hill Knockanure.Fr Edward is survived by Brothers Jim and Tom Sister Mary Shine, he was predeceased by brothers Fr Jerome CSSp and Dr Lawrence and sister Nancy Quinlan. Fr E Godfrey was Parish Priest of St Gregory's Liverpool. He was laid to rest at Rath Cemetery after a long life serving the Church. The Art of Manliness How Manly Men Can Fight Poverty Posted: 14 Oct 2008 11:28 PM CDT Editor’s Note: Today is Blog Action Day and AoM is taking part. Blog Action Day is an annual nonprofit event that aims to unite the world’s bloggers, podcasters and videocasters, in posting about the same issue on the same day. The goal is to raise awareness and trigger a global discussion about that issue. This year’s issue is poverty. The first time I was really confronted with poverty on a consistent basis was when I lived in Tijuana, Mexico for two years as a missionary for my church. For a white kid (well, a tan white kid) who grew up in an affluent American town, the experience was an eye opener. For the first time, I saw all the ugly effects of poverty first hand: drug and alcohol abuse, prostitution, child neglect, sickness, and crime. While I was in Tijuana, I saw several church groups from California cross the border with the goal of alleviating poverty. They’d come with bags of used clothes, toys, and handouts of free food. Heck, they’d even build people new homes for free! While their intentions were noble, their efforts did little to help the people. In a day or two the food was gone and in a week or two the free toys were lying untouched on the dirt street. But the people still didn’t have enough money to buy clean water or food for their families. And those people who got new homes? As soon as the church groups left, some of these new homeowners dismantled their houses and sold the materials for money. Others, who kept their homes, failed to take care of them properly and they quickly deteriorated. Within a matter of months, those brand new houses were indistinguishable from the other run down shacks. But during my time in TJ, I met several families who were able to beat the poverty cycle. As I look back at these people, they all had two things in common that helped them get out of poverty: self-determination and responsible help from others. I never saw one without the other. One family stands out to me. The husband was basically a bum. He drank his days away and worked odd jobs that paid a pittance. He couldn’t provide for his family and they often went hungry. This bum happened to attend the same church as a man who owned several taxies that ran in Tijuana. The taxi owner knew the bum husband and the problems he had. The taxi owner took the guy under his wing and worked with him on getting his life in order. With a bit of tough love, this guy turned his life around completely. It took a lot of hard work and a lot of setbacks, but he had the determination to make a better life for his family The taxi owner soon offered the newly transformed man a job as a taxi driver in Tijuana. For the first time in this man’s life he had steady work that allowed him to provide comfortably for his family. He was able to escape poverty. Grit and determination will only get you so far when you’re battling poverty. I saw men in Tijuana who worked their asses off at two jobs, but their situation never improved. It wasn’t until someone stepped in and provided better resources and opportunities that these men’s situations got better. Likewise, all the help in the world won’t do any good unless the person has the desire to accept the help and do something constructive with it. As they say, you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. So just providing handouts won’t cut it, like the misguided church groups did above. At some point the impoverished person must make the decision to get out of poverty. And they might need some help to see that they even have a choice. Some people have been so beaten down by poverty that they don’t have confidence or self determination to rise up from it. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not naïve enough to think that self determination and help from others will beat poverty every time. Some places in the world have such corrupt governments and extreme environments that Herculean efforts and all of Warren Buffet’s money can’t possibly eradicate all of the poverty there. But individuals don’t have much influence over those factors. I think it’s much more constructive to focus on things we can have a direct and immediate influence on. And a final thing I learned while I was in Mexico is that it isn’t the big Herculean efforts that beats poverty. Big government programs, huge benefit concerts, or even Blog Action Days don’t do much to help people get out of poverty. It’s done one person at a time. How to Kick Poverty’s Ass How can we as men help kick poverty’s ass? Here are a few suggestions. 1. Become a mentor. You don’t need to go halfway across the world to fight poverty. Opportunities exist right in your backyard. Become a mentor to a disadvantaged young person in your community. Young people are stuck in a cycle of poverty. Their parents are poor, and thus often don’t know how to motivate their kids to seek higher education and a better life for themselves. And the kids then follow their parents’ example, have their own kids, and raise them the same way. By becoming someone’s mentor, you can step in and break that cycle. You can provide the guidance and counsel that they may not get at home or from their friends. You can help them develop the skills that will enable them to become self-sufficient. Keep in mind that being a mentor is a long term commitment. Expect to be in it to win it for months or even years. The investment will be well worth it for the person and for you. Check out Big Brothers or your local community center. Or look for a way to volunteer in your area’s schools. 2. Offer a free class to impoverished people. It’s not the politically correct thing to say, but it is oftentimes the lifestyle of impoverished people that keeps them poor. In many cases, they lack basic life skills that we often take for granted. Things like showing up to appointments on time, basic grooming, and interpersonal skills might be lost on them. Most communities and states have agencies that teach people these skills. Many are hurting for teachers. Make a call and volunteer some time. 3. Donate a suit. The other day, I heard on the radio about an organization that collects gently used suits for impoverished men to wear at a job interview. I think that’s a damn good idea. Check out Dress For Success and see how you can donate your old suit to help a fellow man. 4. Join Americorps. Have you recently graduated from college and find yourself drifting, unsure of what you want to do next? Consider joining Americorps. Americorps is one of the best kept secrets in the country. Americorps is like a domestic Peace Corps in which men and women dedicate themselves to a year of full-time service (although there are some part-time opportunities as well). Americorps is an umbrella for thousands of different programs, from those that tutor elementary students to those that work with the elderly. After the very me-centered time of college, Americorps will give you a chance to completely dedicate yourself to improving the lives of other people. 5. Join an international relief organization. If you’re wanting to help battle poverty on an international level, join up with an international relief organization. You’ll have the chance to get on the ground and help people directly. You could be involved with classes that teach water purification, sanitation, and farming. Or you could instruct people on how to run a business. Stuff that will help individuals become self sufficient and on the road to beating poverty. Many churches have international relief programs. If you’re not a church person, check out Peace Corps or UNICEF. 6. Donate to a micro loan. Studies have shown that just giving countries money doesn’t do anything to alleviate poverty. The money gets lost through graft and the inefficiency of bureaucracies. Why not put the money directly in the hands of the people you’re trying to help so they can help themselves? Micro loans do just that. Your $50 or $100 loan can help some man in Africa start their own business. You’ll be giving the help a person needs to become self-sufficient. 1
FAMINE Extra
Aug 12 1848
Famine Report
Captain spark Report on the Potatoe Crop in Newtownsandes Ballylongford and other Areas in North Kerry.It is Considered that 0.333 of the early sown Potatoe crop could be saved if there are dug in
time. The late sown crop was a failer. Many Fields have sound Tubers not Affected by Blight.Oats and Barley look well. Wheat looks thin and weak. Corn Sowing was down a half to 0.33 from Previous
years. The corn crop will be jeopardised if the weather continues to be wet. Turnips and other Green crops look well but little sown in this area.
Listowel union report 1847 works selected for Paupers. Breaking stones on the public road. Fencing and renewing fencing on new roads. Scraping and cleaning the streets of Listowel. Collecting and
breaking stones. Stewards Michael Maher , Dillane and Pat Carroll stewards wages 1s-6d per day .The opinion of the committee is that Paupers will be given food before calling on them to work . If
they refuse to work they shall be struck off the relief lists . Hammers to be provided by the Board for breaking stones, Stewards responsible if any of them are lost. Spades and shovels to be
provided by the paupers themselves. Edward Ware of Ballylongford sent a letter to the Lord Lieuteant asking for Relief for the Destitute Poor and Indignant people of Ballylongord they Needed some
Relief and Assistance to Keep the alive as Coffins cannot be Purchased for the numbers dropping from famine and Distress Captain Spark visited Ballylongford in Feb 1848 to make inquiries about the
condition of the people following the letter from Ware. He went to the Parish Priest Rev D Mc Carthy his curate Rev Mahony and the Local Dispensary Doctor. They told Capt. Spark that the statement of
Mr Ware was false 3 or 4 have died in Ballylongford town since Christmas. 2 were poor aged and were receiving relief. It was noted that Mr Edward Ware was taken off the relief list because he refused
to Work he is now employed By Mr Blacker the Landlord. Mr John Blacker is employing the poor on his Estate doing work of Improvement at this time.
http://adminstaff.vassar.edu/sttaylor/FAMINE/ILN/Condition/Condition3.html
ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE NEW POOR-LAW
From the town of Kilrush to Kilkee, on the shore of the Atlantic, I passed through an unimproved district, on which nature has bestowed fertility, and man has levelled the habitations that were built in happier days. In a drive of seven miles I counted thirty-three roofless houses. Kilkee is a beautiful spot. Round a bay, from which the ground rises like an amphitheatre, are planted many villas and baths. The scenery is bold, and the waves, after rolling across the vast Atlantic, spend their last force on the rocks, dying amidst noise and foam. From its situation, it is worthy of its name, the "Western Brighton," and it is worthy of notice, showing that nature has left nothing that can contribute to prosperity, not even a suitable bathing-place, unprovided in the Union of Kilrush. From Kilkee, through Kilard and Donoughboy, I went to Moveen the roofless, of which I have already sent you a Sketch. I was told here a melancholy tale of the widow Hogan and her four children, who were all carried out of her cabin in a helpless state of fever, and laid down in a ditch on the opposite side of the road, where they remained several days, when a humane stranger had them carried to the hospital, eleven miles off. To Tullig from Kilkee, I counted ninety-two roofless houses. Passing afterwards through the picturesque village of Cariegaholt to Donagha and Querin, I counted 105 dwellings in ruins. Clarefield, to which I came next, baffles description. Adults, who appeared idiotic; children, wrinkled with care, so that they appeared like aged persons; and men who should not be worn out, but more helpless than children, with scarcely a rag to cover them, crowded the place. Their habitations were mere kennels. I was heart-sick, and said "Surely there cannot be so much suffering and neglect in any other spot on the face of the earth!" I returned to Kilrush, glad to find a refuge even in it from the more appalling misery of the surrounding villages.
The Fitzmaurice land Murder: The Parnell Commission on Crime
A friend of Listowel connection who has read a lot about this incident writes;
" I have read a lot on the Kerry 'outrages' and am quite taken aback at the cruelty, viciousness and brutality that seemed 'normal' among the moonlighters when 'dealing' with ordinary people of their own sort and station in life. I hasten to say that this did not solely apply to Kerry- the same can be said about all other counties where unrestrained violence became the 'local law.'
The fear of the workhouse - and the moonlighter- made people callous and craven; but it would be almost impossible to blame them in the circumstances.
It is very easy to raise the devil- it is another thing entirely to put him back where he came from!"
This extract from an account of the Parnell Commission's Enquiry into the murder. Nora Fitzmaurice, the victim's daughter was with him when he was shot. She gave sworn evidence to the enquiry.
“FITZMAURICE'S OFFENCE - LEAGUE'S ACTION.
He would now call attention to the case of James Fitzmaurice, 60 years of age, whose murder was one of the most brutal character. He was killed on the 31st of January, 1880; but for two or two and a half years his life had been made a misery to him. His murder was directly traceable to the Lixnaw Branch of the Land League. It might be said that the Land League was suppressed three weeks before his murder, and, therefore, the organisation could have had nothing to do with it; but he should be able to show that it had. In 1887 Fitzmaurice helped Mr. Hussey, a landlord's agent, over a ditch. That was his offence, and the local branch of the Land League then issued the following resolution, which was given in the Kerry Weekly Reporter: - "That as James Fitzmaurice has acted the part of special constable to S.N. Hussey on the 14th inst., we consider his neighbours should hold no further intercourse with him."
That was in June, 1887. On the 31st of January, 1880, Fitzmaurice was shot while driving with his daughter in the morning. There were several persons who then passed them on the road, but they dared not go to the assistance of the dying man and his daughter. The men charged with that murder were defended by the National League funds. He (the learned counsel) supposed it was to see that they got a fair trial.
THE DISPUTE WITH THE BROTHERS FITZMAURICE.
Norah Fitzmaurice was the next witness. She is a tall good looking young woman, and gave her evidence very clearly. She stated that her father, Jas. Fitzmaurice, lived in the parish of Lixnaw, in the county Kerry, with her uncle Edmond, the two holding a farm of sixty-six acres. Both were ultimately evicted for non-payment of rent, and were put back as caretakers. Prior to the eviction, a dispute had arisen between her father and uncle, as the latter was not willing to pay his portion of the rent, and it was in consequence of this that the eviction took place. In March, 1887, her father was made tenant of the entire farm, and her uncle left and went to live at the next farm.
A VISIT FROM THE SECRETARY'S SERVANT.
Shortly after that the servant of the secretary of the local branch of the National League, Thomas Doolan, brought a letter to her father, which asked him to attend a meeting of the National League on the succeeding Sunday. This, however, he did not do, and subsequently she saw notices in the Kerry Sentinel and the Kerry Weekly Reporter with reference to her father.
Here a discussion arose as to the admissibility of notices in the latter paper, inasmuch as no one connected with that paper was mentioned in the charges and allegations.
Sir Henry James submitted that it was admissible on the ground that it was a record of events commonly known in a locality.
Sir C. Russell observed that it seemed to him the actual object of the inquiry, viz., the inquiring into charges and allegations, had been lost sight of. He submitted that it was not admissible, on the ground that the paper was not connected with specifically mentioned persons.
Mr. Asquith emphasised Sir Charles's argument, after which,
The President decided that the evidence was not admissible.
Miss Fitzmaurice's evidence was, consequently, proceeded with on other lines. She said that shortly after her father took the farm on his own hands, Doolan, with other men, visited the farm, and walked around the house, staying there about two hours.
Mr. Atkinson here read from the Kerry Sentinel a report of a National League meeting, at which Mr. Fitzmaurice was condemned for taking his brother's farm.
MURDER OF JAMES FITZMAURICE.
Continuing her evidence, Miss Fitzmaurice said that in January, 1888, she left her house at about four o'clock with her father for Listowel Fair. They were accompanied some distance by a police escort. Shortly after the escort left them a man passed them and returned with another man. They then fired at her father, and he was killed. Two men named Hayes and Moriarty were hanged for the murder.
THE ACTION OF THE NEIGHBOURS.
After her father had been shot, several neighbours passed in their carts. One stopped and said, "He's not dead yet," and passed on; while others refused to assist her at all.
BOYCOTTED IN THE CHAPEL.
After the conviction of the two men Hayes and Moriarty the people refused to speak to her. When she attended the parish church the people got up and left the building, the man Thomas Doolan leading the way; and those who did worship in the same church would not kneel where she knelt. Norah Fitzmaurice went on to say that she was still living in her father's house, with her sister and mother, and they were still under police protection.
HER FATHER AND HER UNCLE.
In course of cross-examination by Sir Charles Russell, Norah Fitzmaurice declared that there was a dispute about the bog-land near her father's farm, but she could not say it was because the landlord, Mr Hussey, was trying to close a road that the public had used for a long time. When her uncle was evicted, he went to live with a Mr Costelloe, also a tenant under Mr. Hussey, who, she heard, was very much annoyed in consequence. She admitted that there was "very bad blood" between her father and uncle.
Is it not a fact that Hayes, one of the men convicted of your father's murder, tried to break up the League at Tralee? - No, sir.
Did you know that either one of the two was a member of the League? - No. She added that Thomas Quilter, who had been brought over to London as a witness, and died here, was her cousin, and was the assistant secretary of the local branch of the League.
DENUNCIATION OF THE CRIME.
Articles published in the Kerry Sentinel and United Ireland, condemning the murder and outrages in Kerry generally, were at this juncture read. Then Sir Henry James re-examined Miss Fitzmaurice, obtaining merely the additional statement that articles had appeared in the Kerry Sentinel relating specifically to her father.
Miss Fitzmaurice left the box, and Michael Harris entered. His evidence was directed to representing the hostility of the people towards the Fitzmaurice after the murder. "Referring to the fact that Doolan left the chapel when Miss Fitzmaurice entered, he said he believed that was simply because Miss Fitzmaurice was there. Doolan was afterwards sent to jail for intimidating Miss Fitzmaurice.
The Court here adjourned for luncheon.
"KERRY SENTINEL" AND THE INTIMIDATION.
On resuming, after luncheon, Sir Henry James put in a copy of the Kerry Sentinel, containing a report of the proceedings of the trial of Doolan for the intimidation of Norah Fitzmaurice. He said his object was to show that there was no condemnation of the outrage and boycotting.
Head-constable Irwin was then re-called. He said that on the 18th of August, 1880, Quilter made a statement to him. Witness then read a portion of the statement from his note-book.
He was interrupted by Sir Charles Russell, who, addressing the Court, contended that the statement was not evidence, as it had not been made by Quilter as an official of the League.
The President upheld that view.”