Skibbereen - Famine Survivors, How?

[Sinann]

Lots of edible seaweed here, Irish seaweed is going to Japan now because they won't eat their own after the nuclear problem recently.

[spalpeen]

John McCarthy my ancestor from Reen was also described as a labourer in Griffiths.  His son, Tim, who married a Hallihane was a labourer, but also a fisherman as many in that area were. Fishing was seasonal and needed other forms of support.He was also in the Royal Navy and merchant navy. I suppose what I am saying is that the word "labourer" does not necessarily tell the whole story of what people did during the Famine.

Spalpeen

[Mike in Cumbria]

I suppose what I am saying is that the word "labourer" does not necessarily tell the whole story of what people did during the Famine.

Spalpeen

Quite. It is, after all, just what they said in answer to a question one day every ten years. It doesn't describe a lifestyle.

[kezd]

My people are also from this area.  My GG Grandfather, John Driscoll, worked at the Rineen Mill.  The mill employed a number of people - although I understand they did not pay 'wages' as such, but subsidized with food.  There were a number of houses on the land that the workers and families lived in.  Although listed as a 'laborer' I know that he too spent some time working in the army, and that this was a common thing for local lads.  Members of the family also did time with the coastguard.
Unfortunately for John and wife Kate (O'Neill) times were so tough and with a growing family they could not manage on what they had, and they emigrated to London.  Their health status was very low, and most of the children perished with TB, or in childbirth, or with other disease.  So far I have found that 9 out of 11 children died before their parents.  A very sad indictment for the conditions they must have faced.
One brother, Jeremiah, remained but in a census I see that 5 out of his 7 children had not survived.
I have heard that the Castlehaven landlords were keen to see people leave the land, and strong 'advice' was given to the young men of the area to emigrate.  This was around 1864.
Tough times.

[miggs 191]

I also have heard through family that the men were advised to leave .It was suggested they join the British army or navy.One of my distant relatives turns up in Portsmouth dockyard and you can track his service record.
From all I have read over the years the most straight forward situation appears to be that the potato crop failed repeatedly and the British continued to send food to the mainland as they thought the Irish peasant would become dependant on handouts…hence the road schemes where men worked for a few pennies a day. The articles in The Times newspaper are worth a read. The recipe for soup for the soup kitchen was useless but worth reading about….mainly water and salt !
I know that my ancestors ate seaweed, various shellfish and pork ( I am guessing they were a little better off) as my mother lived with her grandmother who made it to 106 ! She remembered the famine.       

[AlanR83]

Hello,

I have a follow up question - I have found a civil marriage cert for my Great x Grandparents in Castlehaven for 1865 - Mary Halihane and Cornelius Sweeney. On the Marriage cert Mary states her father as Tim Halihane which has allowed me to trace that family pretty well but Cornelius Sweeney does not state his father's name on the cert - I have not seen this before, normally even if deceased the groom will list his father's name and occupation on the cert. Could this mean he abandoned the family or some other reason? Cornelius address on the cert is North Street, Skibbereen and in the Griffith's valuation 1853 there is a Mrs Mary Sweeney also renting on North Street - I think this may be his mother, any ideas why he would not list his father's name on the cert?   

[rathmore]

Soup kitchen

http://www.skibbereen.ie/the-great-famine

[AlanR83]

I think I may have found an answer to my original question - I found that Timothy Hallihane's wife was Mary Collins, and one of the sponsors at their child Jeremiah Hallihane's baptism in Castlehaven in 1853 was a Michael Collins. I checked the Griffith's Valuation list and I found that Michael Collins is listed for Aghills, Castlehaven as renting house, office and land of 19 acres. I also saw he is jointly renting land with a John Collins senior of 26 acres and a John Collins junior of 12 acres - so if this is the family that Timothy Hallihane married into - it would explain how he had enough resources to survive the famine years, it seems likely that his wife's family helped him out. The curious thing I found about the Collins family is that in the 1825 Tithe Applotment John Collins is listed for Aghills as renting only an acre and there are two Jerry Collins listed renting 1/2 acre and 3/4 acre between them, it seems a long way for the Collins family of Aghills to advance in under 30 years?

[Sinann]

They are not the same measurement.
The Applotment books are Irish or Plantation acres which is 1.62 times larger than the statute acres used in GV.

I was trying to read those Aghills entries but I can't figure out what the first column says but I'm not convinced it's the total of land each has.

It's a bit clearer here but I still can't read it.
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1-12230-24359-60?cc=1804886&wc=M6LC-YZ9:147767101,147925401

Near the end it's not even filled in
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1-12230-24644-14?cc=1804886&wc=M6LC-YZ9:147767101,147925401