School: Gaigue (B.), Ballinamuck (roll number 13305)

Location:
Gaigue, Co. Longford
Teacher:
Peter Duignan
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The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0758, Page 118

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The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0758, Page 118

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  1. XML School: Gaigue (B.), Ballinamuck
  2. XML Page 118
  3. XML “The Famine of 1846”

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  1. The famine of 1846 did not affect the people of this district very badly and nobody died that I ever heard of. This was then a great oats producing district and when the potato crop failed the people had the oats. They made plenty of oat meal and were not hungry. In 1847 a lot of wheat was grown in the potato track and the people had their own flour to eat. At the time of the Famine oats sold as high as 42 shillings per barrel. It was the policy of the English government to buy up all the oats so that the people would starve. I mind when I was a young lad to stand on the hill over my house, and to look all around. hardly anything could be seen except fields of oats. I knew one man in County Leitrim who tilled for oats forty two acres and of forty seven acres altogether. He employed a lot of men and all that land was in ridges and all the oats had to be reaped with a hook. At that time there was a distillery in Longford which made whiskey from oats and the farmers around got a good price for oats, a pound per barrel. Longford was then a busy market with oats and
    (continues on next page)
    Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.
    Language
    English
    Collector
    Peter Duignan
    Gender
    Male
    Address
    Gaigue, Co. Longford
    Informant
    Michael Grimes
    Gender
    Male
    Age
    86
    Address
    Kiltycreevagh, Co. Longford