School: Garryross

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1. Famine of 1846-47 (continued)

   

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   the stirabout, quickly spat it out saying 'twas, saw dust. Strong men have been known to faint on the first taste of food. They had been for days without food. Oats was very plentiful that year and the big farmers had plenty of corn for their own use after selling sufficient to pay the landlords. Some of those farmers were generous enough and often gave to the poor man. There was at that time such a thing as giving out meal at Interest, and many a greedy farmer got rich in that way. There was a building in Oldcastle called the poor house and 'tis many a poor man was buried there in Bully's acre. A couple of men were kept busy digging graves for those who died of the plague that followed the famine. The cargoes of Indian meal given to the poor were a great boon. There are families in this district yet who are known as the pound of meal.

   The year before the famine there was such a lot potatoes that people couldn't use half of them. Some dumped the surplus into rivers. When cleaning up the rivers the following Spring the potatoes were there as fresh as ever, and were used as seed. This of course only happened with a few in this locality who had running

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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

   Kitty Mc Enroe

   Gender

   Female

   Address

   Cormeen, Co. Cavan