School: Ráth na mBeach (roll number 17129)

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1. Local Landlords

   

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   Long ago before the land act came out a landlord owned each district in Ireland. Some landlords were very good to their tenants and helped them if they were not able to pay their rents. More of them were very bad and often put a poor tenant and his family out along the side of a road if he was unable to pay rent. The landlord that ruled this district was Major Knox. He was a fairly good man He never put a tenant out of his house if he was unable to pay rent. He lived in Greenwood big house. Sometimes when he went out for a walk through his land if he saw a bark of a tree gone he would find out who took it and summon the person and fine them even if it was in some other persons holding. When the land act came out all the land was taken off him except a very big holding known as Greenwood and Woodville where there was no house except two which were down in the bog. He left the bog to the people of the two houses. Once upon a time before the famine came to Ireland there were nearly thirty houses in Woodville. When the famine came most of the people and their families went away to America because if they
   waited at home they would starve. They all went except three families. When the famine was over the landlord Major Knox said to them that they would have to leave where they were and go to live in the bog. He said he needed their land for himself. The three families left but two families could only make a living in it. The landlord bought a good place in another district for the family who could not live in the bog. Then he had all

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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

   Collector

   Mairéad Ní Speláin

   Gender

   Female

   Address

   Woodville, Co. Mayo