Published in 1802, the Statistical Survey of the County of Meath is aptly subtitled by its author, Robert Thompson of Oatland: 'with observations of the means of improvement, drawn up for the consideration and under the direction of the Dublin Society'
The publication of the Statistical Survey of the County Meath traces its origins to the 1740s, but is was not until the inauguration of the Dublin Society - later the Royal Dublin Society - that plans to publish a statistical survey for each county came to fruition. By 1832 The Society had published survey for twenty-three of thee thirty-two counties, although ultimately seven counties would not be surveyed.
The Statistical Survey for the County Meath is one of the earliest surveys published by the Society and like its companion surveys aimed primarily to determine the 'actual state, capabilities and defects of agriculture, manufactures and rural economy'. The Statistical Surveys were conducted under the central direction of the Dublin Society and its successor, the result of which is a uniform quality and presentation of material on pre-Famine Ireland.
Although primarily concerned with the state of agriculture and the rural economy as a whole, the importance of the Statistical Surveys transcend this narrow aim. In recording statistical data on the state and conduct of agriculture, most authors detailed the myriad aspects of Irish rural society that formed part of the rural economy and in these respects the Statistical Survey of the County of Meath is no exception.
Containing more than four hundred pages, the Meath survey is divided into seventeen chapters introduced by a chapter on thee geographical and climatic conditions prevalent in each of Meath's baronies. In common with the other published surveys, five chapters are given over to the nature of agricultural production in Meath. These chapters range in scope from the types of livestock - cattle to bees and rabbits - and the nature of pasture, arable, tillage and bog land as well as that to the husbandry of wooded plantations. The remaining chapters record the other aspects of the society, economy and legislature that together could be described as the rural economy of county Meath in 1802 and it is perhaps these aspects that are especially interesting.
Robert Thompson details and describes Meath's housing stock ranging from the landed estates to labourer's cottages; records the size of farms, 'character of farmers', nature of rents, tenure, tithes and the general state of education in the county. He also records in some considerable detail the different forms of agricultural labour present in Meath and provides a template of the accounts that each labouring family might be expected to produce. This shows how an agricultural labourer earned his livelihood, be it in wages, food, fuel, land, etc., and as such the Survey as a whole details some of the minutia of Meath's pre-Famine rural society. Compared to most other counties, the list of the means for improving Meath's agricultural economy was a short one. The author identified the chief hurdle to improvement as the lack of capital to small farmers and the drain on the county's financial wealth by the many absentee landlords owning land in the count.
The Statistical Survey of the County of Meath is presented here in CDRom format and as such is full searchable and will make an invaluable addition to those interested in the pre-Famine conditions of rural county Meath.
The Royal Commission on Labour commissioned the reports into the conditions of the Agricultural Labourer in the Poor Law Unions of Ireland, which were carried out primarily in the 1890s. The reports mirrored a survey that was carried out in England previous to the Irish reports. The results, particularly for many of the Poor Law Unions in the West of Ireland were shocking. They painted a picture that had changed little since the famine for the agricultural labourer. The report covered the issues of Supply of Labour, the Conditions of Engagement, Wages and Earning, Cottage Accommodation, Gardens, Benefit Societies, Trade Unions, General Relations and General Conditions.
The areas covered in this particular report are the Poor Law Unions of Cookstown (Co. Tyrone), Ballyshannon (Counties Donegal, Fermanagh and Leitrim), Ardee (Counties Louth and Meath), Downpatrick (Co. Down), Clones (Counties Monaghan and Fermanagh), Letterkenny (Co. Donegal), Limavady (Co. Derry), Ballymena (Co. Antrim), Castleblayney (Counties Armagh and Monaghan), Dromore West (Co. Donegal) and Ballymahon (Counties Longford and Westmeath). Because of the geographical spread covered the results vary with Limavady, Downpatrick, Ballymeena and Cookstown classed as good; Ballymahon, Ballyshannon and Dromore West as poor. In some cases the cottages were little more than mud cabins, which may have had up to 8 people living in them. However, this can be contrasted with areas that give very "favourable accounts". Each report is accompanied by detailed statistical returns as well as comments by several of the leading gentlemen of the area. Information was also collected from the labourers themselves, and often their condition is described in some detail, giving their name, address and other personal details. Common themes throughout the reports are the decreasing number of labourers owing to emigration and the lack of winter work. In cases where the conditions were poor much of the blame was placed on the laziness and lack of thrift of the labourers.
This report is fascinating insight into a class of Irish life that was slowly disappearing which is already evident from the evidence supplied. The large area covered makes it particularly interesting, as the differing standards are all too easy to observe. This report offers a vital insight into the social and economic conditions of the country as it approached the 20th century.
This is one of earliest full commercial directories of Ireland, and includes over 220 urban centres throughout the island. Organised by Province, and then town, it lists all the principal office holders, gentry, professionals, tradesmen, hotels, schools, public institutions, churches, and even pubs for each town in Ireland. There is a description of each Province and town as well. This was Pigot's much-expanded second edition (the previous version dated 1820) and is now extremely rare.
This title includes the Introductory sections, and the Dublin & Leinster sections only.
Lewis gives details about every parish, town and village in Ireland, including numbers of inhabitants, the economy, history, topography, religion and parish structures, administration and courts, schools, and much more. He also gives the names of the principal inhabitants (generally landlords, merchants and professionals).
This Dictionary is in four parts:
· Preface & Subscribers
· Volume 1: A-G
· Volume 2: H-Z
· Volume 3: Maps
The Maps are in full colour, making this source one of the most important for research on Ireland.
This superb book includes a full commercial directory for the entire country. Organised by Province, and then town, it lists all the principal office holders, gentry, professionals, trades, hotels, schools, public institutions, churches, and even pubs for each town in Ireland. Slater took over Pigot's important publication of commercial directories of Ireland, and this was the first instalment. It has almost twice as much detail as its predecessor (published in 1824), and is now an extremely rare item.
For those familiar with the study of Irish history and in particular Irish genealogy, directories such as Slater's are a vital research tool. Each town and village contained in the Directory is introduced by its geographical location in relation to its nearest railway station together with population statistics derived from the 1861 Census of Ireland as well as a brief geographical and topographical description. The Directory provides the names and addresses of the principal private residents, together with those engaged in commercial and agricultural activity as well as the presence and location of religious, commercial and public institutions.
This publication reproduces just the Province of Leinster & Dublin city sections of Slater's 1870 Royal National Directory of Ireland. This directory is one of only nine national directories for Ireland published prior to 1900 and an essential research tool for the study of Irish genealogy and history.
This superb book includes a full commercial directory for the entire country. Organised by Province, and then town, it lists all the principal office holders, gentry, professionals, trades, hotels, schools, public institutions, churches, and even pubs for each town in Ireland.
This is the third edition of Slaters, for the year 1881, and contains 1,580 pages of information including a large-scale map of Ireland.
This publication reproduces just the Province of Leinster & Dublin city sections of Slater's 1894 Royal National Directory of Ireland. This directory is one of only nine national directories for Ireland published prior to 1900. Apart from the fulsome coverage given-over to Ireland's four major cities, Slater's also provides information on the principal private and commercial residents (including farmers) of the larger towns and villages. As a fully searchable CD-Rom, the publication of Slater's Royal National Directory of Ireland is an essential research aid that must grace the shelves of anybody interested in the people and institutions of Ireland.
This important book is well known to Irish genealogists. It contains an index to over 40,000 Irish wills, most of which were destroyed in the 1922 explosion at the Public Record Office in Dublin. As a consequence this book is especially important as the only surviving evidence of what did exist at one time. This index gives the name of every person who left a will, their address, rank or occupation and the date of probate. Vicars' based his work on the abstracts to the original wills compiled by Sir William Betham, and is the only index to his voluminous collections of abstracts and extracts in existence.
However, this edition is doubly important because we have included the never-before-published supplement compiled in 1914 to correct errors and omissions in Vicars' work.
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