School: Toames, Maghcromtha (roll number 15478)

Location:
Tooms, Co. Cork
Teacher:
Seán de Búrca
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The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0338, Page 239

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The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0338, Page 239

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  3. XML “Stories of Epidemics”

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  1. Many stories are told of the terrible effects of the famine of '47 and '48. The following are a few related to me by my father R.I.P. he was the eldest of a family of eight and was twelve years at this time of this terrible visitation. The whole family was stricken down with fever. ( Fever was then raging over the country). They were laid up for over a fortnight and how they got through he couldn't explain, as not one of the family was able to minister to the wants of the others and neighbours, who were not themselves stricken, were terrified of visiting any place where the disease was known to exist. He thinks, however, the owed their lives to the occasional secret visit of a kind aunt. At the start of the sickness they happened to have a good supply of Indian meal and some flour stored in. Being the first to be knocked up himself he as the first to recover and after a survey of the surroundings he found that all their provisions had been stolen except for some small share of meal and flour which were in the house where they were all sick.
    About midday of the first day that he was able to get out of bed a poor man came, almost creeping to the yard begging for something to eat. His face and and lips were green from the juice of nettles and herbs which he had tried to eat to keep him from starving. My father being struck with pity for the poor man succeeded after a lot of trouble in providing a saucer of Indian meal stirabout for him
    (continues on next page)
    Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.
    Topics
    1. time
      1. historical periods by name (~25)
        1. the great famine (~4,013)
    Language
    English
    Informant
    Daniel Burke
    Gender
    Male
    Age
    70
    Address
    Coolsnaghtig, Co. Cork