Library Forum

Hi Jimbo Thank you for all that research, including the newspaper reports, which explain a lot. Indeed, you have the makings of an article on the two Garruragh Workhouses right there. Good to hear that the canvas tents, used since 1847, were replaced by wooden huts in 1850. Jimbo, I agree with almos...

How so many could be accommodated in Garruragh House is truly mystifying, but it seems there was a shelter with a canvas roof erected at Garruragh. This is referred to in an article entitled “'The Late Disastrous Epidemic’ Medical Relief and the Great Famine “, by Laurence M. Geary – see page 57: ht...

We are often reminded that Griffith’s Valuation is not a census. Even as a substitute for a census, it is not very good. And I think it is safe to say that there were families living in Garruragh in the early 1850s, not shown in any surviving records. I think that by the time of the publication of G...

I feel must try to atone for saying that the famine over in 1850. In fact 1850 was a very bad year. There was an expectation that harvest work would be plentiful. Accordingly, on 13 August, it was ordered that a final week’s rations would be issued to all outdoor paupers on Friday 16th , after which...

Well, I should have realised that the information in the Census Reports is derived from the censuses, so the emigration figures arrived at must be based on information given in the census form and not on questions asked at ports of departure, as I had imagined.The 1861 census form must have included...

Hi Jimbo, again This chart (from 1871 Census Report) shows that the rate of emigration from Co. Clare remained very high during the early 1850s: http://www.histpop.org/ohpr/servlet/PageBrowser?path=Browse/Census%20(by%20date)/1871/Ireland&active=yes&mno=423&tocstate=expandnew&display=sections&displa...

Hi Jimbo The 1861 census figures show a huge drop in the number of houses in Garruragh - from 55 in 1851 to 23 in 1861: http://www.histpop.org/ohpr/servlet/PageBrowser?path=Browse/Census%20(by%20date)/1861/Ireland&active=yes&mno=412&tocstate=expandnew&display=sections&display=tables&display=pagetitl...

Hi Jimbo, Thanks again for doing so much research and giving us the results, set out so clearly. And Sorry for missing that you had already noted that some lots in Garruragh and Glendree contained houses, rather than one house. Jimbo, I wasn’t defending James Hurley – just providing a possible motiv...

Hi Jimbo, again I continue to be intrigued by the difference between the number of houses (55) in Garruragh townland in the 1851 census and the number of tenants (24) listed in Griffith’s Valuation in 1855. And, as you show, Jimbo, some tenancies do not contain a house, so there are actually only 18...

Hi Jimbo I gather from this piece, by John Grenham, entitled “Griffith’s Valuation Online” that the map used by FindMyPast is more or less contemporaneous with the publication of the Valuation: https://www.johngrenham.com/browse/retrieve_text.php?text_contentid=67. I’m not a subscriber to FindMyPast...

The sheep’s head. “the making of broth for them”, presented to Widow McNamara by the accused man, James Hurley, reminded me of the sheep’s head in Brendan Behan’s story, “The Confirmation Suit”. In the story his Aunt Jack tries to get his grandmother to stop buying tins of food and to cook “stews an...

Hi Jimbo Don’t do too much editing of references to the 1842 map. It is no harm to remind us that the G V accompanying map is based on the 1842 map. In fact it is the 1842 map with orange outlines imposed upon it. Don’t forget that we have both wondered at the sight of those orange lines crossing so...

No, it's not plausible. I've looked again and there is no mis-match between lots 13 and 14 and the corresponding outlines on the map. And, anyway, there are 27 lots in the map - not 26. I was interested to see, in the 1888-1913 map, that the Workhouse burial ground is in the townland of Drummaghmart...

Well, it is not so difficult, after all, to see how there might have been 67 houses in Garruragh in 1841. Tithes (1827) lists 46 occupiers of arable land in Garruragh. I suppose most of these also had a house. And there may have been some more houses occupied by people who held no land. And then, I ...

Hi Jimbo, Instead of looking at Tulla Electoral District, I should have gone back a few pages and looked at Garruragh townland on page 41. The number of houses in Garruragh in 1841 was 67. In 1851 it was down to 55. But neither Tithes nor Griffith’s accounts for that number of houses. About the plac...