SNIPPET: In 2002 with the introduction of the Euro-currency all the original coins will be consigned to history and a portion of Irish people will be around who will be able to recall using three sets of coinage. This is a phenomenon which may never again repeat itself. Researchers whose ancestors emigrated to other countries may find the history of the currency system particularly informative. The Sterling based system was introduced on the basis of a decision of the new Irish Free State which set up a Committee under the Chairmanship of the famous poet, William B. YEATS. A competition was organised and well-known sculptors and coin designers were invited to compete. A prize was offered for the winning design. The designs of Percival METCALF were successful and his designs for 8 coins were struck by the British Royal Mint in London and issued by the Irish State in 1928. The sterling system was based on using 12 pence to the shilling and 20 shillings to the pound which itself equalled 240 pennies. The system was known as pounds shillings and pence or L/s/d. The L coming from the Latin word Libra and the d coming from the Latin word Denarius, which was a Roman coin. The L became written in a fancy style (with a little line running horizonally through it) and hence the symbol for pound as written to the present day. The obverse side of all coins had the same design - a 16 string Irish Harp based on what was called the 'Brian Boru Harp' in Trinity College Dublin and regarded as the National symbol, it bore the legend 'Saorstat Eireann' with the year date divided each side of the harp. In 1938 this side of these coins was altered by the use of the word Eire to mark the change to the Republic of Ireland and the legend was placed on one side of the harp and the year date on the other side. The reverse side of the coin featured its value stated numerically and in Irish script. The coins featured a series of birds and animals considered important to Ireland's dominant agricultural economy with unit and design as follows: Feoirling (Farthing) -- Woodcock in flight Leath pingin (Halfpenny) -- Sow with piglets 1d Pingin (Penny) -- Hatching hen with chicks 3d Leath-real (Threepence) -- Hare in sitting position 6d Real (Sixpence) -- Irish wolf hound 1s Sculling (Shilling) -- Bull 2s Florin (Two shillings) -- Salmon 2s 6d Leath coroin (Half-crown) -- Horse The farthing was last struck for circulation in 1959. The half-penny was last struck in 1967 and known as the 'ha' penny.' The penny was last struck in 1968 while the three pence was last struck in 1968 and was known as the 'threepenny bit.' The sixpence was last struck in 1969 and known as the 'tanner.' The shilling was last struck in 1968 and was known as the 'bob.' The florin was last struck in 1968 while the half crown was last struck in 1967. The half-penny and half-crown were demonetised on 31 Dec 1969. The penny, threepence and sixpence were demonetised with the introduction of decimalization on 18 Feb 1971. The shilling and the two shilling coins were continued in the same design and size as 5p and 10 p in the new decimal system but were demonetised in 1992 and 1993 respectively and replaced by smaller coins of the same design. (My note -- real has a little mark above the letter e and coroin above the second o. Not sure, but may be pronunciation stress marks). -- John McNabola, "Leitrim Guardian" periodical 2001

In a message dated 12/5/2005 12:44:48 P.M. Pacific Standard Time, kats07@ameritech.net writes: Pat, I know someone in England that does this for us in the US. Pat Connors <nymets11@pacbell.net> wrote: I just found my ggrandfather's brother, John in the England 1871 census living with his wife and 1 year old daugher in Wavertree, Lancashire Pat and Bob, I note you are trying to find records in Lancashire, England. Try _www.lancashirebmd.org.uk_ (http://www.lancashirebmd.org.uk) . This will tell you if they have the record, and, if they do, how to order it. I did it and received a copy of a marriage certificate, which cost 7 pounds (I used my Visa) for my Costello/O'Connor/Connor family. The marriage took place in Manchester, England in 1851. If you need more information, let me know. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year Joan R. Plantinga San Jose, CA

> > >I just found my ggrandfather's brother, John in the England 1871 census >living with his wife and 1 year old daugher in Wavertree, Lancashire > I have received their marriage cert from the GRO in England, already. He turns out not to be my ggrandfather's brother, after all. John O'Connor/Connors married Jane Cox in 1869 in England where they had their first two children. Both born in Ireland. In 1874, they had a child in Troy NY. If anyone can connect to this family, I have a marriage cert you can have. -- Pat Connors, Sacramento CA http://www.connorsgenealogy.com

If your ancestors include John O'Connor b ca 1845 and his wife, Jane Cox b ca 1850 who were both born in Ireland, lived in the Liverpool area of England to ca 1873 when they moved with their two children (b England) to Troy NY, email me off list. I have their marriage certificate and would love to give it to you. -- Pat Connors, Sacramento CA http://www.connorsgenealogy.com

I have added a blog to my website and one of the topics I started yesterday was Irish Christmas Recipes. Instead of sending them to the list, I think this is an easier way to share recipes and ask questions about them, rather than on the list which is mostly geared to genealogy. Please feel free to add recipes to the blog and/or put questions on the blog. If you have problems using it, write me off list and I'll do what I can to help you. I am actually in a learning curve with it myself. You will find a link to the blog near the top of my website (URL under my name). -- Pat Connors, Sacramento CA, list admin http://www.connorsgenealogy.com

WHILE SHEPHERDS WATCHED THEIR FLOCKS BY NIGHT While shepherds watched their flocks by night, All seated on the ground, The angel of the Lord came down, And glory shone around. "Fear not," said he, for mighty dread Had seized their troubled mind; "Glad tidings of great joy I bring To you and all mankind" "To you, in David's town, this day Is born of David's line, The Saviour, who is Christ the Lord, And this shall be the sign." "The heavenly babe you there shall find To human view displayed, All meanly wrapped in swaddling bands, And in a manger laid." Thus spake the seraph; and forthwith Appeared a shining throng Of angels, praising God, who thus Addressed their joyful song: "All glory be to God on high, And to the earth be peace; Good will henceforth from Heaven to men Begin and never cease." -- Nahum Tate (1652-1715)

SNIPPET: Emigration - One of these final partings was witnessed by a writer named Harriet MARTINEAU, "Letters from Ireland," pub. London 1852. The writer, who frowned upon grief openly expressed reacted accordingly with a peculiarly British blend of sympathy and disdain, prejudice and an assumption of moral superiority: "The last embraces were terrible to see; but worse were the kissings and the claspings of the hands during the long minutes that remained...When we saw the wringing of hands and heard the wailings, we became aware, for the first time perhaps, of the full dignity of that civilisation which induces control over the expression of emotions. All the while that this lamentation was giving (me) a headache...there could not but be a feeling that these people, thus giving vent to their instincts, were as children, and would command themselves better when they were wiser. Still, there it was, the pain and the passion: and the shrill united cry...rings in our ears, and! long will ring when we hear of emigration." Another account of an emigrant's parting found in manuscript 1411, Irish Folklore Department, University College, Dublin: "...It was just like a big funeral..and the last parting...was indeed sad to see...The parents especially were so sad, as if the person leaving were really dead...You would rather not be there at all if you would be any way soft yourself."

MEMORY LANE: Mr. Peter KELLY shared in the March 1999 issue of "Best of British, Past & Present" magazine: "I have retained a great fondness for old newspapers, magazines, comics and annuals. Unlike any programme which comes over the airwaves, a magazine is something tangible which you can feel and even smell as you read it, and then, when it's finished with, you can store it away somewhere safe and refer to it again and again. Even if you forget all about it, a member of some future generation will come along one day and gaze in wonder at the publications of so many years ago. I remember ripping up some old linoleum in the kitchen of a house we'd moved into and finding to my delight the yellowing pages of newspapers which had been laid beneath it many years before. The news pages were interesting enough - but the old-style advertisements were what really tickled my memory... How much simpler life used to be when the major means of advertising, apart from on the packaging itself and showcards on shop counters, was on enamel signs, poster hoardings, the sides of trams and buses and in newspapers and magazines. The messages were usually brief and to the point, often boasting brilliant artwork, and as far as I can see they did the job just as effectively as the complex devices of today. There was a glorious innocence to many of the wonderfully-painted pictures, whether they showed a picnic on the lawn, a game of golf or cricket, a simple domestic scene, workers taking a break, children at play. There were colorful scenes from the Raj and other aspects of Empire, boating and - particularly appealing to British patriotism - members of the armed forces on land and sea. The images they portrayed lasted for generations. Who can forget the GUINNESS toucan and the other colourful animals of that firm's splendid advertising menageries, or the classic "Guinness for Strength' posters showing a man carrying a huge steel girder on his shoulder, or pulling that cart as the smiling carthorse puts its hooves up and enjoys the ride for a change?" Other lasting images are the kilted Scotsman on SCOTT's Porage Oats, the farm horse (or was it a pair?) on packets of Mornflake Oats, the bearded sailor on Player's Navy Cut cigarettes, the little dog on His Master's Voice records, the bull on tins of COLMAN's Mustard, the splendid military scene on bottles of Camp Coffee or the facial expressions on that Five Boys' chocolate advertisement -- images which surely fixed themselves in the mind as effectively or even more so than anything before or since." Note, Mr. KELLY refers to his enjoyment of Robert OPIE''s book, "Rule Britannia, Trading on the British Image" published by Viking Penguin, Inc.

SNIPPET: Certificates of Competence for a ship's captain were not needed at the time of the Famine sailings. By 1848 ship owners had started to build ships specifically for the emigrant trade, sometimes converting old vessels, such as the huge packet ships of the American running fleet. The worst of the famine had just been reached: the ruin of the potato crop in the summer of 1848 was almost universal throughout the country with the result that virtually an armada crossed the Irish Sea to Liverpool every day. Though the recent tightening of the Passengers' Acts served their purpose in preventing captains and shipowners from taking too many liberties with their passengers, yet emigrants sailing under British rule were still very much at risk. The mandatory examinations for masters and mates had yet to be introduced, and, up until 1850, masters achieve their status by climbing up through the ranks, by dint of age, experience and capability. In September 1850, the board of Tra! de in London finally introduced the Mercantile Marine Act, forcing masters and mates to sit a formal examination for their Master's or Mate's Tiquet. But the backlog of examinees was so great that many masters and mates were allowed to remain in their commands until an opportunity arose to sit the test at one of the major ports. Ironically, rules were also imposed on passengers by the Board of Trade and introduced a year earlier than those for seamen. The Rules for Passengers of 6 Oct 1849 stipulated that all passengers must rise by 7 a.m.., unless excused by the surgeon, and be in bed by 10 p.m. Breakfast could not commence until the deck, including the space beneath the berths, had been swept, the bedding stowed away; the long list of edicts even included religious behavior on Sundays. The vessels, themselves, were covered by the flimsiest regulations. For a ship to be listed in Lloyd's Register, it had to be surveyed and judged first-, second-, or even less! , third-class, according to its age, condition and general seaworthiness. A third-class status prohibited any but short voyages; not out of Europe but, with the pressure of the emigrant trade, such regulations were sometimes broken. Lloyd's classification was introduced primarily for insurance purposes but there were still countless ships sailing the seven seas and all the five oceans, which had never been either surveyed or listed. While no unlisted ship could be chartered by the government to transport convicts to the colonies, such restrictions failed to protect innocent emigrant passengers. The only requirement for emigrant ships was that the appointed Local Inspector of Emigrant Ships satisfy himself as to the fitness of the vessel, but that inspector was not always an experienced sailor or shipbuilder and frequently lacked the competence to make such judgments. Among the coffin ships, especially those chartered by the agents organizing the landlord emigration were seve! ral unlisted by Lloyd's. Presumably the owners were either careless or feared their vessels unfit to pass Lloyd's survey. The convict ships, like the slave ships before them, were properly provisioned with food and water for the voyage. Dietary regulations for the convicted felons directed that they should have meat on three days a week, as well as on Sundays, alternating with meat-broth on other days. No such basic necessities formed part of the statutory provisions for emigrants. A convict ship was not allowed to carry cargo, for a variety of reasons, in case it should cramp the conditions or accommodation on board and endanger the ship in bad weather. Emigrant ships carried whatever cargo pleased the captain or the owner, even iron which had a habit of shifting in the hold, sometimes in mid-ocean. Overladen vessels with either too much cargo or too many passengers or both were not as rare as they should have been. (Nearly 30 years would pass before the introduction of th! e Plimsoll Line. Devised the politician, Samuel PLIMSOLL, the line was a load line painted along the ship's hull to indicate the ship's maximum load-bearing capacity in water. If a ship's Plimsoll Line sank below the surface of the water, then the ship was deemed to be overloaded and from 1876 could be detained in port). During the height of the famine, a parliamentary committee examined contemporary regulations and proposed increasing crews. On convict ships and all other ships chartered by the government, there were to be four seamen for every 100 tons of registered burthen. For emigrant ships, however, the proposed increase was less - only three seamen for every 100 tons, and even this modest measure was quashed by the powerful Liverpool shipping lobby. Convicts had a rigorous medical inspection at both ends of a voyage and most of these ships actually carried a doctor on board. While emigrants, were usually thoroughly inspected on arrival, they wererarely checked seriously on embarkation, and doctors were only found on the very largest emi! grant vessels, usually the American packet ships. Dublin's politicians protested to the British government about conditions aboard emigrant ships, starting circa 1848: "We would recommend that free emigrants should be treated at least as well as convicts in transport ships." But their plea met with little response. Further reading on subject -- "The Famine Ships," Edward Laxton (1996). Includes replicas of famine-related documents. Later Document -- Certificate of Competency for Master of a Foreign-Going Ship was awarded to Donald Robert McCUTCHAN, by Order of the Board of Trade, 30th day of June 1911.

Has anyone purchased an Irish BMD cert recently? On a recent trip into the Registrars office here in Wexford this last week, I was advised that the cost of Birth Certs etc. has increased from ?6.90 (that's 6 euros and 90 cents.) to ?8 (8 euros) plus a ?2 (2 euros) search fee. Overall it has been due for an increase for some time, which now makes it comparable to the cost of Certs. issued in the UK. They now also have facilities for Credit/Debit cards but DO NOT accept them over the Internet. (I'm not sure about over the phone in all honesty.) slan Cyril Newsome Loch Garman

Here is an interesting article that a couple of people have sent me to pass on to my Irish lists. It is about how Canada is helping Ireland with getting their censuses on line with free access for all. http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20051206/tc_afp/irelandcanadahistory -- Pat Connors, Sacramento CA http://www.connorsgenealogy.com

George of the Irish Heritage Newsletter is busy, just be the Christmas season, he sends along another recipe. You can try this after the Ginger cake.... Irish Christmas Scones These rich scones are commonly served during the festive season in Ireland. 3 cups plain flour 1 teaspoon cream of tartar 1 cup of buttermilk 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking powder 1. Stir together dry ingredients and mix lightly with hands. 2. Make a hollow in the centre and add enough buttermilk to make a soft dough. 3. Turn onto floured board and knead quickly and lightly until the dough is free from cracks. 4. Roll out until 1/2cm thick and cut into rounds. 5. Place on greased oven sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes -- Pat Connors, Sacramento CA http://www.connorsgenealogy.com

Jean, I just found out recently that my wife's gr grandfather, Joseph Heery, was part of the 12th Illinois Regiment that fought in Sherman's March to the Sea. He was also a guard of Confederate prisoners at some point. He came to America in 1849, at the age of 21, enlisted on 13 Jul 1861, and served in the Union Army until his discharge in 1865. Bill in Peoria, IL., USA

Note -- The American Civil War provided the Irish in America with a superb, if grim, opportunity to disprove the nativist claim that they would never make loyal, patriotic citizens. More than 144,000 Irish-born served in the Union Army. In addition tens of thousands of American-born Irish also served. One of the reasons so many Irish served in the Civil War was their relative poverty. Many Irish immigrants stepped off ships in America and were immediately confronted by Union Army recruiters offering two- to three-hundred dollar cash bonuses for enlistment. For penniless immigrants with no specialized skills, this offer, equal to a year's pay at the beginning of the war, was too good to refuse. Another inducement to enlistment was an appeal to nationalism. Many regiments were formed under ethnic names like Mulligan's Brigade and Corcoran's Legion. The recruiting posters often made clear that ENGLAND, Ireland's historic oppressor, was sympathetic to the CONFEDERACY. Some hoped to gain military experience that they could later use in an uprising in Ireland against British rule. Indeed, many of the most ardent Fenians of the late 1860s were veterans of the Union Army. Although the 144,000 Irish who served in the Union Army are better known, 30,000 Irish also served in the Confederacy. The came principally from the South's cities, such as New Orleans, and formed some of the hardest fighting Confederate units. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jean R." <jeanrice@cet.com> To: <IRISH-IN-UK-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Friday, December 09, 2005 10:24 AM Subject: [UK-Irish] Patriotism and War - ACW/"The Blue and the Gray," Francis Miles FINCH > THE BLUE AND THE GRAY <snip>

THE BLUE AND THE GRAY By the flow of the inland river, Whence the fleets of iron have fled, Where the blades of the grave grass quiver, Asleep are the ranks of the dead; Under the sod and the dew, Waiting for judgment day; Under the one, the Blue; Under the other, the Gray. These in the robings of glory, Those in the gloom of defeat, All with the battle blood gory, In the dusk of eternity meet; Under the sod and the dew, Waiting the judgment day; Under the laurel, the Blue; Under the willow, the Gray. From the silence of sorrowful hours The desolate mourners go, Lovingly laden with flowers Alike for the friend and the foe, Under the sod and the dew, Waiting the judgment day; Under the roses, the Blue; Under the lilies, the Gray. So with an equal splendor The morning sun rays fall, With a touch, impartially tender, On the blossoms blooming for all; Under the sod and the dew, Waiting the judgment day; 'Broidered with gold, the Blue; Mellowed with gold, the Gray. So, when the summer calleth, On forest and field of grain With an equal murmur falleth The cooling drip of the rain; Under the sod and the dew, Waiting for judgment day; Wet with the rain, the Blue; Wet with the rain, the Gray. Sadly, but not with upbraiding, The generous deed was done; In the storm of the years that are fading, No braver battle was won; Under the sod and the dew, Waiting for judgment day; Under the blossoms, the Blue; Under the garlands, the Gray. No more shall the war cry sever, Or the winding rivers be red; They banish our anger forever When they laurel the graves of our dead! Under the sod and the dew, Waiting the judgment day; Love and tears for the Blue, Tears and love for the Gray. -- Francis Miles Finch On December 13, 1862, Union forces assaulted Confederate entrenchments along a ridge known as Marye's Heights, in Fredericksburg, VA. Fourteen waves of attackers were sent across open fields against the fortified Confederate position. All were shattered by repeated volleys of Confederate fire. The Irish Brigade was in the third wave, and achieved international fame with the tenaciousness of their attack. Eliciting cheers from their Confederate adversaries, many of whom were Irish themselves, their attack collapsed when the Brigade's officers were felled. Of the fourteen attacks, the Irish came closer to attaining the ridge. The Brigade was permanently crippled by the 45 percent losses it sustained in the attack. In the aftermath of the futile assault on Marye's Heights, General Robert E. LEE commented on the extraordinary courage exhibited by the men of the Irish Brigade: "Never were men so brave. They ennobled their race by the splendid gallantry on that desperate ! occasion. Though totally routed, they reaped a harvest of glory. Their brilliant, though hopeless assaults on our lines, excited the hearty applause of our officers and men."

SNIPPET: (Manchester) - "I had requested the younger members of the staff, charged with the visitation of the outpatients of the infirmary, to give me the earliest information of the occurrence of any cases indicating the approach of cholera. I had a scientific wish to trace the mode of its propagation, and to ascertain if possible by what means it would be introduced into the town. My purpose also was to discover whether there was any, and if so what, link or connection between the physical and social evils, to which my attention had been so long directed. A loop of the river Medlock swept round by a group of houses lying immediately below Oxford Road, and also on the level of the black, polluted stream. This was a colony of Irish labouorers and consequently known as Irishtown. I was requested by one of the staff of the outpatients of the infirmary to visit a peculiar case in one of these cottages. On my arrival in a two-roomed house, I found an Irishman lying on a bed close to the window. The temperature of his skin was somewhat lower than usual, the pulse was weak and quick. He complained of no pain. The face was rather pale, and the man much dejected. None of the characteristic symptoms of cholera had occurred, but his attendant told me that the strength had gradually declined during the day, and that, seeing no cause for it, he had formed a suspicion of contagion. I sat by the man's bed for an hour, during which the pulse became gradually weaker. In the second hour it was almost extinct, and it became apparent tha! t the patient would die. His wife and three children were in the room, and she was prepared for us by the too probable event. Thus the afternoon slowly passed away, and as evening approached I sent the young surgeon to have in readiness the cholera van not far away. We were surrounded by an excitable Irish population, and it was obviously desirable to remove the body as soon as possible, and then the family, and to lock up the house before any alarm was given. As twilight came on the sufferer expired without cramp or any other characteristic symptom. The wife had been soothed and she readily consented to be removed with her children to the hospital. Then suddenly the van drew up at the door, and in one minute, before the Irish were aware, drove away with its sad burden. No case of Asiatic cholera had occurred in Manchester, yet notwithstanding the total absence of characteristic symptoms in this case, I was convinced that the contagion had arrived, and the patient had been its victim. The Knott Hill Hospital was a cotton factory stripped of its machinery, and furnished with iron bedsteads and bedding on every floor. On my arrival here I found the widow and her three children with a nurse grouped round a fire at one end of a gloomy ward. I ascertained that all necessary arrangement had been made for their comfort. They had an evening meal; the children were put to bed near the fire, except the infant which I left lying upon its mother's lap. None of them showed any sign of disease, and I left the ward to take some refreshment. On my return, or at a later visit before midnight, the infant had been sick in it's mother's lap, had made a faint cry and had died. The mother was naturally full of terror and distress, for the child had had no! medicine, had been fed only from its mother's breast, and, consequently, she could have no doubt that it perished from the same causes as its father. I sat with her and the nurse by the fire very late into the night. While I was there the children did not wake, nor seem in any way disturbed, and at length I thought I might myself seek some repose. When I returned about six o'clock in the morning, another child had severe cramps with some sickness, and while I stood by the bedside, it died. Then, later, the third and eldest child had all the characteristic symptoms of cholera and perished in one or two hours. In the course of the day the mother likewise suffered from a severe and rapid succession of the characteristic symptoms and died, so that within twenty-four hours the whole family was extinct, and it was not known that any other case of cholera had occurred in Manchester or its vicinity." -- First-hand account, Sir James Kay-Shuttleworth, "Eyewitness to History," ed. J. Carey (1987)

Thanks again Jean- I love Yeats Gill ( Wales one Gilly) ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jean R." <jeanrice@cet.com> To: <IRISH-IN-UK-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, December 08, 2005 11:20 PM Subject: [UK-Irish] "The Lamentation of the Old Pensioner" - Dublin/London's Wm. B. YEATS > THE LAMENTATION OF THE OLD PENSIONER > > Although I shelter from the rain > Under a broken tree, > My chair was nearest to the fire > In every company > That talked of love or politics, > Ere Time transfigured me. > > Though lads are making pikes again > For some conspiracy, > And crazy rascals rage their fill > At human tyranny; > My contemplantions are of Time > That has transfigured me. > > There's not a woman turns her face > Upon a broken tree, > And yet the beauties that I loved > Are in my memory; > I spit into the face of Time > That has transfigured me. > > -- William Butler Yeats (1893) > > > ==== IRISH-IN-UK Mailing List ==== > To unsub or change your subscription: > http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/other/Ethnic-Irish/IRISH-IN-UK.html > > ============================== > Search Family and Local Histories for stories about your family and the > areas they lived. Over 85 million names added in the last 12 months. > Learn more: http://www.ancestry.com/s13966/rd.ashx > >

THE LAMENTATION OF THE OLD PENSIONER Although I shelter from the rain Under a broken tree, My chair was nearest to the fire In every company That talked of love or politics, Ere Time transfigured me. Though lads are making pikes again For some conspiracy, And crazy rascals rage their fill At human tyranny; My contemplantions are of Time That has transfigured me. There's not a woman turns her face Upon a broken tree, And yet the beauties that I loved Are in my memory; I spit into the face of Time That has transfigured me. -- William Butler Yeats (1893)

This is from George Steeler of the Irish Heritage Newsletter. I also left his remarks about the recipe. Irish Heritage member Jean sent in this tasty recipe. I recommend this recipe highly. I made it last year and it was a tremendous hit was my wife's family. And if I can do it, believe me anyone can. Hahahaha Top it off with whip cream, and you have a delicious after dinner desert. Hi George, here is a recipe that is really good. Instead of Molasses use the black treacle. Jean from my grandmother's recipe file IRISH BLACK GINGER CAKE 1/2 cup butter, softened (1 stick) --do not use margarine 1/2 cup sugar 1 egg 1 cup dark molasses 2 1/2 cups flour 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground cloves 1 teaspoon ground ginger 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 1 cup hot, freshly brewed strong coffee Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8-inch square or 9-inch round cake pan and set aside. Beat together the butter and sugar until smooth. In a large bowl, beat egg into molasses, then add to the butter mixture. Sift together flour, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and salt, then fold into the butter mixture. Dissolve baking soda in coffee, then add it to the batter. Beat vigorously until well blended. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Bake 45 to 60 minutes or until a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. -- Pat Connors, Sacramento CA http://www.connorsgenealogy.com

"They carved the date above the gate "Eighteen Forty-Nine," When they build the workhouse on the hill of limestone tall and fine. The people came to drink the soup Ladled from greasy bowls, They died in whitewashed wards that held A thousand Irish souls." So wrote author M. J. McMANUS of the workhouse in Carrick on Shannon where he was born. It was, in fact, built in 1841 at a cost of over 11,000 pounds and it was (unfortunately) to play a big part in the life and death of the town in the following years during the Great Famine. It was one of three workhouses built in Co. Leitrim as a result of the passing of the Poor Law Act of 1838. The other two were at Manorhamilton and Mohill. Both of these buildings have since been demolished. The workhouse was built to accommodate 800 inmates. The Poor Law Union of Carrick administered the following areas. In Co. Leitrim, the parishes of Kiltoghert and Kiltubrid, parts of Annaduff, Drumreilly and Mohill. In Co. Roscommon, the parishes of Aughrim, Kilmore and portions of Ardcarne, Clooncraff, Creeve, Killukin, Killumod and Tumna. The administration was under the control of the Board of Guardians. Half of the members of this Board were made up of Justices of the Peace resident in the Uni! on area. The other members were elected by the Union's rate-payers and property owners. The day-to-day running was left in the hands of the Master, who received a salary of 50 pounds per annum. He was assisted by the Matron who received half that. There was also a porter, a medical officer, two school teachers, a Roman Catholic chaplain, a Church of Ireland chaplain and the Clerk of the Union who recorded and maintained the records. Only the destitute were meant to avail of the Poor Law system. Conditions were to be as miserable as possible. Families were not allowed to live as a single unit, husbands and wives, parents and children, brothers and sisters were all assigned different quarters. Parents were admitted to see their children on Sundays only. Despite some problems, conditions at Carricks' workhouse in the early years were reasonable, but workhouses and the Poor Law were hopelessly inadequate to deal with the tragedy of the Famine that was just a few years away. A succession of "small famines" in the early part of the 19th century had led to crop failures throughout Ireland and eventually to what became known as the Great Famine. In 1845 blight caused partial failure to the potato crop in Co. Leitrim. There were shortages of food in the workhouse and towards the end of the year the number of deaths rose significantly. The reaction of the government to the food shortages was to repeal the Corn Laws which led to a fall in the price of home-grown crops. Indian corn was imported into the country from the U.S. Local Committees were set up to identify the worst hit areas and to allocate relief accordingly. Public work schemes were introduced to give employment. Many of the fine cut-stone public buildings and bridges date from these mid 1840 schemes. In 1846 the blight reappeared and there was a complete failure of the potato crop. A change in government saw the end of the relief measures introduced by the previous administration under Rob! ert PEEL. This was done so as not to interfere with what the new cabinet felt was the right of the suppliers to a "fair profit." The task of coping with the now worsening situation in the country was in the hands of the Poor Law Unions, local voluntary relief committees and the Society of Friends also known as Quakers. In November 1846, William FORSTER of Norwich and James TUKE of York, both Quakers, arrived in Carrick on Shannon. The scenes of poverty and suffering witnessed by them had a profound effect. There were 110 applicants for the workhouse, all destitute, for which there were on 30 vacancies. Starvation and disease were everywhere. Forster purchased all the bread available in the town and distributed it. Conditions in the workhouse were deplorable. There was no sanitation and clothing was scarce. Inmates were idle. Suppliers were profiteering. Build to accommodate 800, the workhouse was trying to cope with over a thousand, 170 were in the hospital suffering from typhus and dysentery. Inmates were dying at a rate of 12 per week. There was no bedding and nothing to lie on but straw. In January 1847 the government finally saw the folly of its earlier policies, and direct relief which included soup kitchens were introduced. It reduced starvation but it did not prevent the spread of d! isease. A Temporary Inspector, Capt. Edmund WYNNE was appointed in an effort to administer the workhouse more efficiently, but the Board of Guardians refused to cooperate with Wynne and they were disbanded and replaced by Vice-Guardians, James O'REILLY and Robert DUNCAN. Although there was initial success, WYNNE was replaced by Capt. Philip HAYMES, the Board of Guardians were reinstated. A special committee of the Board of Guardians was set up following a visit to the workhouse by the District Inspector, William CLARKE. All officers of the workhouse except the clerk were dismissed. Various charges were made against Captain WYNNE and the Vice-Guardians for abuses and irregularities which included placing a Catherine FOLEY, with whom Capt. WYNNE was allegedly having a relationship, on an emigrants' list with financial assistance from the Union to enable her to emigrate. The story of the Great Famine was one of poverty, suffering and disease. Thousands died, many of them children. Foodstuffs were being exported out of Ireland while the families were too poor to purchase it themselves. The country's workhouses struggled with the crisis but more often than not they did not succeed. The workhouses, poorhouses, were seen by the poor as a last refuge and many wished rather to die than enter their grey walls; they were viewed worse that the gaol (jail). The workhouse in Carrick closed in the early decades of the 19th century. It was closed in the 1930s, then re-opened as a geriatric hospital. At the rear of the hospital is a destitute graveyard in which hundreds of victims of the Famine were buried in unmarked graves. It was hoped in 1994, to have the area turned into a Garden of Remembrance with a monument to the people who were buried there. -- Excerpts, annual "Leitrim Guardian" magazine.