School: Wateraghy
- Location:
- Woteraghy, Co. Cavan
- Teacher: C. Ó Cuilinn
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0991, Page 297
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- In the year 1820 a terrible fever broke out in this country; it was called "The Black fever". There was a very big population in Ireland in them days so the fever caused so much death that it was nearly impossible to bury them.
All the people in Ballinagh to the fever and the men came from other places to bury them. They were paid at the rate of 3 1/2d per day. The people were different in them days. They had no coffins they used to put the dead bodies in canvas bags. The people died so fast that they buried them as soon as the life left them, as many as 100 in one day.
These men were called sack-a-mups. There were not many horses to be had that time and the men were so strong that they carried on their backs to Ballintemple graveyard.(continues on next page)
- Collector
- Kathleen Cosgrove
- Gender
- Female
- Address
- Corlismore, Co. Cavan
- Informant
- Patrick Cosgrove
- Gender
- Male
- Age
- 65
- Occupation
- Farmer
- Address
- Corlismore, Co. Cavan
