School: Fearth Mór (Brooklawn) (roll number 15508)
- Location:
- Fartamore, Co. Galway
- Teacher: Treasa, Bean Mhic Aonghusa
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0040, Page 0268
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- XML “The Bad Times”
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- When the Famine was in this country long ago the people suffered terribly, not alone in one place but in every corner of Ireland. The potatoes did not grow for them when they sowed them. They had nothing to eat. There was no oaten meal to be got and lots of them died both of hunger and fever. Then when they had no food to eat they used to go out and gather nettles, those itself weren't plentiful. They used to boil the nettles and eat them.
Down in Brennan's field in Liskeavey there were a lot of bliosgáns and nettles. They used to be so hungry that they used to come to it from far and near they dug the fields up in one day.
The next Spring after the failing of the potatoes the priest told the people not to sow any. The people didn't sow any but a few. James Byrnes Grandfather sowed a small piece and they grew wonderfully well. There was(continues on next page)
- Collector
- Máire Ní Dhuinn
- Gender
- Female
- Informant
- Pat Dunne
- Gender
- Male
