Cromwell paid off his troops and supporters in land which he confiscated. Thus, the Irish acre was smaller than the English acres. Thus the illusion that they were receiving a greater piece of property than the reality. Makes for a good story. . . Ellen Jpintard@aol.com wrote: > > Does anyone know why the Irish Acre was different than the English acre? > > Wasn't the Irish gallon also larger than the imperial gallon? > > Dan > > ==== SHAMROCK Mailing List ==== > **Civil Registration began in Ireland > in 1864. Before that time, you will > need to access parish registers. See > http://community.webtv.net/mpetzolt2/helpfulhints **