School: Bán-Tír (B.) (roll number 2803)

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1. Famine Stories

   

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   1. Many people were dying of hunger in this district. The Government made a grant of Yellow Meal Gruel to the poor people. A boiling house was set up near Clonmeen Church, where the gruel was boiled. On two days each week people attended to receive a small portion of the gruel. The amount varied with the size of the family, and the poverty of the people.
   2. When a person died during the Famine, the body was covered with a white sheet before being buried, as the people were too poor to buy coffins. An old graveyard, where several headstones are still to be seen, is situated beside the house of Tom Callaghan, of Coolroemore, Banteer. People of this locality were supposed to be buried there without coffins during the famine years. An earthen bank runs around this old graveyard, which is square in shape. Rory O'Callaghan of Coolroemore, says, that he saw a light in this old graveyard one night, some years ago.
   3 At Con. J. Linehan's, Lacklown, Banteer, another old graveyard is to be seen, and the old people say, that people were buried there during the Famine Years. Many flat stones are still to be seen there. There is no bank or wall around it.
   4. At Lacklown, Banteer the potatoes used at famine period were "Black Minions" and "Minions". The Black minions were the first potatoes in use, and were about

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. time
      1. historical periods by name (~25)
         1. the great famine (~4,013)

   Language

   English

   Collector

   Patrick O' Callaghan

   Gender

   Male

   Address

   Lackaneen, Co. Cork

   Informant

   John Cronin

   Gender

   Male

   Age

   75

   Address

   Lackaneen, Co. Cork