Industrial Growth in Ireland; c. 1790-1910. Andy Bielenberg PhD, London School of Economics. UMI Number: U062811 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U062811 Published by ProQuest LLC 2014. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 7 h £ S Q **> Acknowledgements I would like to thank Dudley Baines who supervised this thesis and provided important criticism and advice on what to do and what not to do. In addition I would also like to thank the economic history department in the LSE, particularly Linda Sampson, Edward Hunt and Bill Kennedy. The Institute of Irish Studies in Belfast provided me with the funding that enabled me to finalise the thesis, while the Centre for European Social Research in Cork provided me with office space and computer facilities which hastened the slow process of completion. I would like to thank Pat O'Mahony for this in addition to the hospitality he has afforded me on many flying visits to the rebel county. Brian and Fiona Doran provided help with the layout while Cormac O'Grada and Peter Solar provided much needed advice on the five mysteries of national income accounting. David Dickson and John Teeling opened up a lucrative connection with the Irish distilling industry which funded the middle years of the thesis. This resulted in my implication in the writing of a book on the history of Locke's distillery in Kilbeggan. I was fortunate to survive this experience with Irish whiskey; alas the company did not. I wish to thank Senia Paseta for her valuable advice on the Locke's book and her help in the final draft of this thesis. My extended family has continued to be supportive, particularly my mother Charlotte and my grandmother, Christabel. The London members of the family kindly looked after me in the early years of the thesis. Others who have helped the thesis on its way include Fiona Clements, my father, Nick, my sister, Jenny and brother, Kim, Kathrina Bielenberg, Joan O'Mahony, Louis Cullen, David Johnson, Liam Kennedy, John O'Brien, John Kelleher, Eddie Lahiff, Cathryn Hannon, Brian Walker, Bill Crawford, Des McCabe, John Me Hugh, Jonathan Bell, John Wall and Eliki Varvaki. ABSTRACT This thesis examines growth and decline trends in the Irish industrial sector between 1790 and 1910. It challenges existing perceptions of industrial decline in the nineteenth century; instead it argues that industrial output experienced growth during the period in question. Chapters have been written on brewing, distilling, engineering, shipbuilding, woollen, cotton and linen. An additional chapter has been written to cover some of the remaining industries (milling, food processing, tobacco, glass, tanning, paper). Each of these chapters provides a synthesis of research in each industry, in addition to some new research which has been done by the author on the business records of a number of industrial companies. Part of the research task was to bring together the available statistics in each industry; these have been extensively used to gain some idea of trends in each industry. A more macro perspective has been taken in the conclusion which contains two new estimates of industrial output in 1840-5 and 1907. The former is the first estimate of industrial output to be made for ** .. - nineteenth century Ireland. A second objective of the thesis is to identify the major economic factors which led to the industrialisation of east Ulster while most of the remainder of the country failed to achieve significant industrial development during this period. This theme in particular is explored in the chapters on linen, shipbuilding, engineering and in the conclusion. A further objective of the thesis is to identify how much the extent, location and nature of each industry changed during the period in question. Earlier research on the Irish industrial sector has either concentrated on one region (particularly Ulster), or has only concentrated C on one industry. This thesis is the first attempt to look at almost all of the industries which created added value on the island of Ireland. 2 Table of Contents Page Abstract 2 Table of Contents 3 Table of Figures and Tables 4 Introduction 8 1 Brewing 22 2 Distilling 40 3 Iron and Engineering 58 4 Shipbuilding 89 5 Woollen 101 6 Cotton 121 7 Linen 142 8 Other Industries 170 Conclusion 209 Appendices 235 Bibliography 271 3 List of Tables and Figures Page 1.1 Number of Brewers in Ireland, 1791 24 1.2 Irish Imports and Exports of Beer, 1800 to 1828 (Barrels) 25 1.3 Quantity of Malt used by Irish Brewers, 1820 to 1846 (Bushels) 29 1.4 The Geography of the Irish Brewing Industry in 1846 30 1.5 Bushels used by Brewers in Ireland 1835-1895 33 1.6 The Geography of the Irish Brewing Industry in 1899 37 1.7 Output of the Brewing Industry 1847-1911 (Barrels*) 38 1.8 Malt used by Brewers in Ireland 1845-1901 (Bushels) 39 2.1 Spirits Distilled in Ireland and Exports, 1815 to 1845 C Gallons) 45 2.2 Output and Exports of the Irish Distilling Industry 1845-1862 (Gallons) 50 2.3 Spirits Distilled in and Exported from Ireland 1851-1901 51 2.4 Exports of Whiskey from Ireland 1860-1905 (Gallons) 55 2.5 Output and Consumption of Spirits in Ireland 1857-1907 (000 *! Gallons) 57 3.1 unwrought Iron Imports into Ireland, 1790-1825 (Cwt) 69 3.2 Origin of Locomotives used in Ireland 1841-1921 77 3.3 Number of Locomotives Built by Irish Builders 1841-1921 77 3.4 Belfast Machine Exports 1859 to 1907 (tons) 84 3.5 Location of Sales of Combe and Barbour in 1864 85 4.1 Vessels Built in Irish Ports 1814-1826 (tons) 90 4.2 Tonnage Built in Ireland 91 4.3 Shipbuilding in Ireland 1850 to 1880 (Tonnage Launched) 94 4 List of Tables and Figures (Cont) Page 4.4 Wage Indices of Eight Maritime Districts, Shipbuilding and Engineering (All Districts, 1883=100) 98 4.5 Tonnage Built in Ireland, 1881-1907 100 5.1 Irish Imports of woollens (Yards) 1779-1835 102 5.2 Fixed Capital investment and the Numbers Employed in the Principle Centres of the Irish Woollen Industry m 1822 ^ 106 5.3 Woollen Mills in Ireland and Employment in •these Mills 110 5.4 Number of People Employed in the Woollen Industry 1841-1911 115 5.5 Irish Woollen Factories 1850-1904 117 6.1 Irish Cotton Wool and Yam Imports 1790-1822 (Cwts) 123 6.2 Cotton Mills Built in and Around Belfast 1778-1825 130 6.3 Irish Imports and Exports of Cotton Cloth from and to Great Britain, 1820-1835 (Yards) 132 6.4 Cotton Mills in Ireland 1839-1850 136 6.5 Employees Working at Portlaw 1853 139 7.1 Value and Percentage of Total Sales of Linen in Ulster 1783-1821 147 7.2 Index of Weekly Wages in UK Flax Mills in 1833 150 7.3 Percentage Cost Breakdown of Mulhollands Spinning Mill in 1837 Compared to Some Equivalent Costs in England 152 7.4 Geography of Irish Flax Spinning, Power and Employment in 1839 154 7.5 Flax Spinning Mills in Ireland 1835-1850 155 7.6 Distribution of Adult Male Textile Weavers in Ireland (1831 and 1841) 156 5 List of Tables and Figures (Cont) Page 7.7 Irish Linen Exports 1790 to 1845 (Yards) 157 7.8 Linen Mills in Ireland 1839-1914 160 7.9 Linen Exports from Belfast, 1859 to 1880 (packages) 161 7.10 Flax Grown in Ireland 163 7.11 A Comparison of Spindles and Powerlooms in Different Countries 1874-1912 166 7.12 Linen Exports from Belfast 1884 to 1907 (tons) 169 ' • 8.1 The Distribution of the Irish Tanning Industry 171 8.2 Paper Mills in Ireland and Amount of Paper on which Duty was Paid 173 8.3 Percentage of Total Output of Paper Produced in Each Region of Ireland in 1845 174 8.4 Irish Bottle Production and Exports 1801 to 1828 175 8.5 Quantities of Irish Flint Glass on which Duty was Paid 1827 to 1844 (Lbs) 177 8.6 Quantities of Irish Glass Bottles on which Duty was Paid 1829-1845 178 8.7 Duty Paid by Glass Manufacturers in Ireland in 1832 178 8.8 Exports of Provisions from Ireland 1801-1825 181 8.9 Exports of Flour and Oatmeal from Ireland 1803-42 (3 Year Annual Averages) 182 8.10 Com Mills Listed in Excise Districts in Ireland in 1835 183 8.11 The Port of Origin of Flour and Meal Exports from Ireland to GB 1824-38 184 8.12 Irish Harvests 1847 to 1905 (000 Cwts.) 186 8.13 Foreign Maize Imports (000 Cwts) 188 8.14 Foreign Wheat Imports 1870-1905 (000 Cwts) 189 8.15 Tobacco on which Customs Tariffs were Paid in Ireland 1847-1897 (000 Lbs) 197 6 List of Tables and Figures (Cont) Page 8.16 Irish Mineral Production (Tons) 198 8.17 Irish Mineral Output (Current Prices) 198 8.18 Quantity of Paper made and Number of Mills in Ireland 1845-1860 200 9.1 Net Output of the Irish Industrial Sector 1840-1845 (Current Prices) and the % Share of Net Output of each Sector 220 9.2 Exports of Industrial Goods from Ireland 1835-1907 224 9.3 Net Output of the Irish Industrial Sector 1840-1907 (Current Prices) and the % Share of Net Output of each Sector 226 9.4 Comparison of Occupations 1841 and 1911 Census 227 9.5 Net Industrial Output in the 32 Counties in 1907 and in the 26 Counties in 1911 (Current Prices) 230 7 Introduction I This study examines growth trends within the Irish industrial sector between 1790 and 1910, a period when the economy of Great Britain was radically transformed by industrialisation.