The Irish Famine - A Documentary History Noel Kissane T^he Irish amine A Documentary History SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY PRESS 1995 CONTENTS Acknowledgements Foreword Chronology I Before the Famine 1 II The Potato 13 III Relief under the Conservatives 27 IV Relief under the Liberals 45 V Relief Works 59 VI Soup Kitchens 75 89 VII The Workhouse 107 VIII Fever and Disease 123 IX Charity 137 X Evictions 153 XI Emigration 171 XII Aftermath 182 Index ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We are grateful to the following individuals and institutions Museum, and Roger Dixon; the Ulster Museum, and for kindly permitting the reproduction of documents in their Vivienne Pollock; Bill Vaughan. custody or for other assistance: Our special thanks to seven graduate trainees involved in a National Library of Ireland / FAS Training Programme for H.E. President Mary Robinson; 3M, Saint Paul Minnesota, Librarians / Archivists in 1994-95, who carried out initial and Charles Helsell, Art Curator; Allen & Unwin; Mark research for the book and an associated exhibition: Sarah Ball, Bence-Jones; Birmingham Library Services, and Robert Joanna Finegan, Louise Kavanagh, Niamh Maguire, Maire Ni Ryland, Local Services Libtarian; the British Library and staff, Chonallain, Emma O’Donoghue, Aoife O’Shea. Our thanks especially Paul Goldman, Alan Marshall and Chris Payne; the also to FAS, and the co-ordinator, David English. Brother Allen Library, Brother Thomas Connolly and Pat Hawes; Davis Coakley; Fergus Corcoran; Con Costello; Mary The National Library is fortunate in that two former Daly; James S. Donnelly; Pauline Doran; Dublin Diocesan members of staff who are distinguished authotities on the Archives, Most Rev. Dr Desmond Connell, D.D., Famine have made special contributions — Thomas P. O’Neill Archbishop of Dublin, and David Sheehy, Archivist; Davison and Kevin Whelan, both of whom read the text, made many & Associates; the Department of Irish Folklore, University helpful suggestions, and drew attention to a number of College Dublin and staff, especially Bo Almqvist, Bairbre 0 important sources; to both we acknowledge our gratitude. Floinn, Rionach UI Ogain and Micheal C Curraoin; Paul The material in this book is drawn from all departments of Ferguson; Rosemary ffolliott; Very Rev. Anthony J. Gaughan; the National Library, and all members of staff contributed Gill & Macmillan; Elizabeth Hawes; Hulton-Deutsch directly or indirectly and are gratefully acknowledged: Collection Limited; the Irish-American Heritage Museum, Albany, New York, and Joseph Dolan, Chairman of the Bernard Barry, Donal F. Begley, Teresa Biggins, Noel Brady, Board; The Irish Times, and Rachel Burrowes; Albert Kennedy; John Brazil, Rose Breslin, Christopher Briody, William Buckley, Michael Kenny; John Killen; Christine Kinealy; the Knight of Patricia Butler, Matthew Cains, Kieran Carey, Francis Carroll, Clin; Helen Litton for indexing and proof-reading; Peter Adrienne Darcy, Lucy de Courcey, Thomas Desmond, McDonagh; Brian MacDonald for cartography; the McKinney Bernard Devaney, Margaret Doolan, Michael Drew, Deirdre Library, Albany Institute of History and Art, and Wesley Duffy, Fintan Dunne, Glenn Dunne, James Dunne, Mary Balia, Curator; Edward McParland; Louis Marcus; Marsh’s Dunne, Catherine Fahy, James Fleming, Inez Fletcher, Fergus Library, the Delmas Bindery, Muriel McCarthy and Sara Gillespie, Leslie Guider, Mark Hardy, Anne Harte, James McCartan; Catherine Marshall; Joel Mokyr; Robert Monks; Harte, Paul Jones, Anita Joyce, Gerard Kavanagh, Peter Dymphna Moore; the National Archives and staff, especially Kenny, Elizabeth Kirwan, Gerard Long, Sinead Looby, Sister David Craig, Director, Ken Hannigan, Aideen Ireland, Frances Lowe, Sylvia Lynam, Gerard Lyne, John Lyons, Philip Marian Cosgrove and Rena Lohan; the National Archives of McCann, Irene McCormack, Sandra McDermott, Anita Canada; the National Botanic Gardens, and Charles Nelson, McGlynn, Brian McKenna, Grainne MacLochlainn, David Curator; the National College of Art and Design, especially McLoughlin, Denis McQuaid, Declan Maxwell, Irene Bill Bolger, Head of the Department of Visual Meehan, Michael Moran, Marie Moylan, Liam Murphy, Communication, for designing the book and exhibition Olive Murphy, Eills Ni Dhuibhne, Sophia O’Brien, Colette poster; the National Library of Scotland and staff, including O Daly, Colette O Flaherty, Marie O’Gallagher, John O’Leary, Donall O Luanaigh, James O’Shea, John Kenneth Gibson, Susan Kumi and Janice McFarlane; Eva 0 O Sullivan, Margaret Reilly, Noel Stapleton, Patrick Sweeney, Cathaoir; Cormac 0 Grada; Timothy P. O’Neill; Padraig 0 Patrick Thompson, Margaret Trimble, Raymond Weafer. Snodaigh; Peter Pearson; the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, and Anthony Malcomson, Director; the In addition, five members of staff had a special involvement Religious Society of Friends, Swanbrook House; the Religious with the book and exhibition: Eugene Hogan, Photographer; Society of Friends in Britain; John Roe; Sean Sexton; St John Farrell, Preservation Officer, who mounted the Columb’s College, Derry, and Rev. John R. Walsh, President; exhibition; Kathleen Roche, who provided typing and Typeform Repro, especially Mark Mulholland, Roy Thewlis, secretarial services; Kevin Browne, Library Administration Sean McGill and Pat Conneely; the Ulster Folk and Transport Officer; and Mary Hurley, Development Officer. VI FOREWORD The accounts and extracts gathered here under the over the loss of loved ones, friends and neighbours title, The Famine - A Documentary History, are like a brought down by disease and starvation survived to chorus of voices from the past sounding their mourn the departure of their young people to lamentation over the dividing years. There are eye¬ another world, another life. witness accounts of the horror and devastation endured by our forebears as they witnessed the reality of the In today’s world of mass communication and ease of Great Hunger. Each writer tells the story from his or travel, it is difficult to contemplate or comprehend her perspective, as traveller, parliamentarian, civil the enormity of the losses suffered by Irish people a servant, botanist, professional reporter or bystander. mere century and a half ago. We too need the jolt of Each writer brings an awareness and immediacy which the ancient, the voice of the eye-witness. Hence, this comes from the ability to state ‘I was there’. This volume ends with a lone twentieth-century voice in immediacy has the freshness and rawness of the the only modern document in the book, an extract incomplete. It is history as yet unwritten, with no from the keynote address by President Mary explanation, no interpretation, no hindsight; simply Robinson at the International Conference on Hunger the power of the real and actual. The cumulative effect held in May of this year at Glucksman Ireland of these accounts is, I believe, a compelling, harrowing House, New York University. More than any other but ultimately moving experience. Many of the citizen this century, it is Mary Robinson who in her extracts can be dated accurately to a time and day, and own special way recalls, remembers and is witness to, we the readers become helpless bystanders watching on the one hand, the continuing obscenity of famine events unfold. in the world, and on the other, the presence and pulse of the Irish diaspora. Reading her speech, we catch The immediate aftershocks of the potato blight on an echo of an earlier author, Hugh Dorian, who in the population are also documented through the 1896 said: reports on the relief works, the workhouses, and that ‘The satiated never understand the emaciated’. most enduring of effects, emigration. Though Europe as a whole was to experience an unprecedented wave Dr Pat Donlon, of mass emigration in this period, Ireland lost a Director, greater percentage of its population and suffered more deeply its loss. The very people who grieved National Library of Ireland. VII CHRONOLOGY 1845 1848 Aug. 20 First report of potato blight in Ireland. July General failure of potato crop; only one-third Oct. One-third of crop lost. of usual crop saved. Nov. 9—10 Peel orders purchase ot Indian corn in U.S.A. July 29 Young Ireland Rising, Ballingarry, Co. Nov. 18 Relief Commission established. Tipperary. Aug. 14 Encumbered Estates Act (amended July 1846 1849). Mar. 5 Public works act, to provide employment. Nov. Cholera epidemic begins. Mar. 28 Sale of cheap Indian corn begins. Rural evictions increased from 1847 level. June 26 Peel virtually eliminates duties on corn. An estimated 180,000 emigrated in 1848. June 30 Russell replaces Peel as Prime Minister. July Blight reappears; three-quarters of crop lost. 1849 Emigration escalates. May Potato blight confined to west and south. Aug. 28 Poor Employment Act (new round of June Peak of 800,000 on outdoor relief public works). Rate-in-aid, to levy rates fairly over all Poor Nov. Abnormally severe winter sets in. Law unions. Fever and dysentery epidemics begin. Aug. 3-12 Visit of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Mortality soars. Dec. Workhouse accommodation available for Nov. 13 Relief Committee of Society of Friends 250,000, most of it occupied. formed. Evicted families total 16,686 in 1849. An estimated 220,000 emigrated. 1847 Jan. 1 British Relief Association formed. 1850 March Peak of 714,000 on relief works. Evicted families total 19,949. Soup kitchens replacing relief works. An estimated 210,000 emigrated. April 27 Fever act to cope with epidemic. June 8 Poor Relief Act providing for outdoor relief