School: Ardagh (roll number 15035)

Location:
Ardagh, Co. Longford
Teacher:
L. Ó Maolghuala
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The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0768, Page 226

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The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0768, Page 226

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  1. XML School: Ardagh
  2. XML Page 226
  3. XML “The Local Landlords”

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  1. The local landlord's name was Sir George Featherson. He had very high rents on the lands. Some farmers had to pay over forty pounds rent. As well as paying high rents they had to do the landlord's work such as cut the turf and rear them and cut the meadows and rear them. They got a few boiled herrings and a few potatoes thrown on the grass for their dinner. When they would be drawing home the turf when the bell would ring for the dinner whether they had the cart full or not they would have to take out the horse and gallop to the yard and if they were last they would have nothing for the dinner. All the herrings and potatoes would be thrown out. If the landlord got a bad account of a farmer's he would send for the father and if he did not send that son to America he would be evicted. There were three generations of the Feathersons and the last of them left about the year 1919. The last man was a good landlord but there was nothing as bad as the man before him. The McDermotts of Breny were evicted but there was no "plantation" in it. When they were evicted they slept at the back of a ditch. The landlord's ancesstors came into possession of the land by England. They did not divide the land into farms. Sir George Featherson used to give parties to the school-children twice a year.
    (continues on next page)
    Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.
    Topics
    1. place-space-environment
      1. land management (~4,110)
    Language
    English
    Collector
    Mary Cawley
    Gender
    Female
    Informant
    Mr Patrick Reardon
    Gender
    Male
    Address
    Drumroe, Co. Longford