School: Árd-achadh (roll number 17098)
- Location:
- Ardagh, Co. Mayo
- Teacher: Liam Ó Coinne
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0148, Page 310
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- XML “Famine Stories”
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- About ninety or ninety two years ago there was a severe famine in Ireland. It was in the year 1845 and 1846. It lasted for two years. Some of the crops failed. The crop that mostly failed was the potato crop. The food the people ate was nettles and roots of trees.
They used to lie down on the side of a ditch eating weeds and grass.
The poor people would give you a weaving machine for a jug of Indian meal. There was a woman that time who got a weaving machine for a jug of Indian meal. Her name was Mrs. Sweeney. She lived in Bally Croy.
The people used [to] boil the nettles and weeds with salt and mixed it with Indian meal. Thousands of poor people died with the hunger on the road side.(continues on next page)
- Collector
- James Doherty
- Other names
- James Doherty
- Séamus Ó Dochartaigh
- Gender
- Male
- Address
- Cloontykillew, Co. Mayo
- Informant
- Mrs Doherty
- Gender
- Female
- Age
- 53
- Address
- Cloontykillew, Co. Mayo
