Ralahine - a Clare Commune (1831-1833)

[Paddy Casey]

The Ralahine Commune was a co-operative society founded in 1831 on the estate of John Vandeleur at Ralahine, Co. Clare. In an attempt to keep his tenants away from secret societies like the “Ribbonmen”, he brought a socialist called Thomas Craig from England to advise him on the establishment of the commune. After two years it collapsed. Vandeleur’s reckless lifestyle and his gambling habit finally brought an end to the experiment (see http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclar ... lahine.htm ).

At http://openlibrary.org/details/irishcom ... 00craiuoft one can read a 178 page account of the commune with details of its daily life and the events surrounding its demise. The account, entitled "An Irish Commune - The History of Ralahine (adapted from the narrative of E.T.Craig, secretary and trustee of the Association), is well worth reading. Craig, in a kind of epitaph, says that if John Vandeleur had not gambled away his money, resulting in the winding up of the commune, the social history of Clare might have been radically changed by this novel social and agricultural structure.

Paddy