School: Geashill (1)

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1. Famine Times

   

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   Famine Times
   During these times here a man named Thompson was the agent for Lord Digby. He had a friend - one of the gentry, who lived in Newtown house in the Townsland of Newtown, parish of Killey. Draining was started in the Barony of Geashill as relief work. The wages were 5d a day. The men employed from the Geashill district had to work at the far end of the Barony at a place called Killurine cross, nine Irish miles from their homes, while the men from Killurine had to come to the Geashill district. Work began at 6 o clock in the morning and finished at 6 in the evening. Even in winter work took place at the same hours, lamps being utilised in the darkness. This meant that the men had to leave home at 3 o clock in the morning, and walk to work and return in the same way, reaching home at about nine o clock. They took their supper of Indian meal and went to bed, while the women folk remained up to prepare the Indian meal for the morning and call them in time. Down in the townsland of Annaghharvey in the parish one day a group of men were working in the drains under a ganger called Colgan. This Colgan wasn't a bad fellow and had compassion for the men. Tarleton, friend of Thompsons, was passing by riding on a white horse. He stopped to look at the work and while there a man came up out of a drain, staggered around and fell in a faint. Tarleton remarked to Colgan that that was a queer man to have employed. Colgan replied it was the result of hunger and hardship,

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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