School: Cloghan (B.), Banagher

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1. The Famine

   

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   The white hill is to be seen yet.

   (When Owen Roe O'Neill was sick a doctor named O'Shiel was sent for. He did not arrive on time, as O'Neill died before O'Shiel arrived.)
   This story was told to Michael Kenny, Ballysheil, aged 12 years by his Grandmother Mrs Kenny aged 80 years and is written here by Michael Smith on the 21st day of February 1938.

   The Famine

   In the year of the famine the potatoes failed and turned black, a man would be digging all day and would not get his dinner. A lot of people died with hunger on the roadside. A work man would be paid 2d a day and his diet which consisted of a couple of cuts of hard bread and a mug of milk. They used to work very hard on this fare. The people used to sort the potatoes and bring in the good ones or they would be stolen.
   A person would break windows if he thought he would be put in prison because he would be sure of a bit to eat. Then there was relief works started and there was people who would come from all parts of the country for a few pence. The relief consisted of making roads into bogs, making holes and filling them in again. There used to be ship loads of wheat leaving the country and the people

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Language

   English

   Collector

   Michael Kenny

   Gender

   Male

   Age

   12

   Address

   Ballysheil, Co. Offaly

   Collector

   Michael Smith

   Gender

   Male

   Informant

   Patrick Carrol

   Gender

   Male

   Age

   25

   Address

   Ballysheil, Co. Offaly

   Informant

   Mrs Kenny

   Relation

   Grandparent

   Gender

   Female

   Age

   80