School: Clonlara

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1. The Famous Digging of Ross (continued)

   

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   And drove them out of hand.
   They put them to the trace me boys
   To plough Van Diemen's land.
   The champion was imported from Scotland in 1880 by Parnell and his collegues. They were given out to the tenants by ticket according to your valuation, sixteen stone to each person that could pay for them, and they were given free to those that couldnt pay. They were given out at the unions. They were sowed each seed three feet apart. They manured them with some farmyard manure with the addition of lime, every farmer earned like for improving the land as the taking off of the fallow they practised in former time made the land poor.
   The potatoes grew wonderful, they were so big they could be taken to the pit in armfulls no need of a bucket or hamper and they were wonderful for food all floury. Those were the best potatoes they ever had and they are nearly as good as ever yet in some places.
   The land agitation went on for years trying to bring down the landlord, the agents that were the bad boy,s in some cases the landlord was absentee and the agent that was the cause of the trouble as where a tenant couldnt pay he would go to the agent asking time and he had bribe the agent. In this way the tenant was always at their mercy. If they

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. place-space-environment
      1. land management (~4,110)

   Language

   English

   Informant

   Malachy Dinneen

   Gender

   Male

   Age

   79

   Occupation

   Farmer

   Address

   Kilmore, Co. Clare