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Carlow County - Ireland Genealogical Projects (IGP TM) Carlow Poor Law Union
Page 6 |
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Carlow Poor Law Union The Early Years
Poor Relief in Ireland hardly existed as
a system before the nineteenth century. An Act of 1635 projected a
scheme of County Houses of correction for the "keeping and correcting
and setting to work of rogues, vagabonds, sturdy beggars and other idle
and disorderly persons". The first effort of the Irish Parliament to
care for the poor was the provision of a workhouse in Dublin under an
Act of 1703. This institution gradually evolved into a foundling
hospital, and a similar venture was launched in Cork by an Act in 1735.
County Infirmaries were established under the County Infirmaries Act
1765.
During the early nineteenth century, the
poorer section of the population depended on potatoes as their main
source of food, and unfortunately the potato crop is estimated to have
failed, partially or totally fourteen times between 1816 and 1842.
Hunger was frequent, leaving people particularly vulnerable to fever,
which from time to time swept through their cabins and cottages during
these years.
With the social and economic problems
prevailing, it was understandable that poor relief became a national
question. The introduction of a Poor Relief Bill was mooted by the
eighteen thirties which was to be the first statute in Ireland to
provide a system of Poor Relief and to be financed by way of a poor rate
levied on occupiers of houses, land and other rateable property. While
the majority of the clergy including Bishop Doyle of Kildare and
Leighlin favoured the poor relief proposals, landowners and Daniel
O'Connell were opposed principally to any kind of compulsory rate
financing the system. In any event the Poor Relief (Ireland) Act 1838
became law on the 31 July, in that year.
The Act provided for the establishment of
Boards of Guardians with responsibility for operating the Poor Relief
System, particularly the superintending of workhouses. The areas in
which Boards of Guardians exercised their duties were known as Poor Law
Unions. The Act made no provision for outdoor relief. However it took a
number of years before the Act came fully into operation, as work houses
had to be provided. (118 workhouses were ready for occupation by 1845).
Carlow did not escape periods of distress
and particular distress was experienced in the months of June. July and
August 1840., due to the high price of provisions and the scarcity of
work. At that time a Poor Fund Committee, financed by way of public
subscription was in existence (this supplied the poor with coals at half
price during the winter months) and now due to the severity of the
crises was obliged to retail oatmeal at half price to those in need. The
Committee reported that for eight weeks, large boilers were erected at
the old court house and upwards of a thousand quarts of rice were
distributed daily, which were sold at a halfpenny per quart. However
three thousand quarts were distributed weekly, gratuitously, to a large
number, who were in utter destitution.
On the 23 July, 1840 a meeting was
convened by R. M. Muggeridge, assistant Poor Law Commissioner (one of
four Assistant Commissioners appointed to bring the Poor Law System into
operation in Ireland) took place at the Courthouse, to advise property
owners of the Plan contemplated to give effect to the formation of a
Poor Law Union in Carlow vis:
The area of the Poor Law Union was to
consist of "the entire Baronies of Carlow, Idrone East and Idrone West
in the County of Carlow and of the Barony of Slievemargy in the Queen's
County also of the whole of the Barony of Forth (with the exception of a
part of the parish of Barragh) and of the parishes of Tullowphelim.
Fenagh and Ardristan in the Barony of Rathvilly and of four Townlands in
the County of Kildare".
The Union was to be divided into
electoral divisions, eleven in County Carlow and three in the Queen's
County.
Landlords and Cess Payers (later the Poor
Rate Payers) were entitled to vote at election of Guardians.
A system of plural voting was to be
introduced whereby cess payers could have up to six votes, depending on
amount of cess paid. Landlords could have a maximum of twelve votes.
Guardians had to be cess payers within
the union.
Legislature also prescribed that a number
of Magistrates would be Ex-Officio Guardians and should be one third of
the number of Guardians.
Subsequently, a meeting of Magistrates to
elect cx-officio guardk took place in the Court House on Thursday 24
September. Col. John Staunton Rochford chaired the meeting. Ten
Guardians were to elected. Each Magistrate submitted a list of the ten
Candidates supported. The result was as follows:
The election of Guardians took place on
the 15th October, when thirty Candidates were elected to represent the
fourteen electoral divisions in the Union. The following was the result
of the poll as declared by the Returning Officer. Edward L Alma.
Grangeford division
Conservatives
Thomas Elliott - Landlords votes 106 -
Cess Payers 126 - Total-232.
Liberals
John Hanlon
Landlords 124 - Cess Payers 209 - Total 333 -Elected
Tullow division
Conservative
John Whelan - Landlords 157 - Cess Payers
436 - Total 593 - Elected
Hardy Eustice - Landlords
156 - Cess Payers 371 - Total 527
Liberals
Thomas Doyle - Landlords 91 – Cess Payers
448 - Total 539 –Elected
Robert Hanlon - Landlords 90-
Cess Payers 424-Total 514
Barragh Division
Conservatives
Thomas Tomlinson - Landlords 105 - Cess
Payers 117 – Total 222
James Kepple - Landlords 105 - Cess
Payers 109 - Total 214
Liberals
Patrick Kehoe - Landlords
31 - Cess Payers 322 - Total 353 - Elected
Sylvester Donoughoe -Landlords 31 - Cess
payers 318 – Total 349 - Elected
Myshall division
Conservatives
A B. Feltus - Landlords
80 - Cess Payers - 323 - Total 403 –Elected
J B. Brady - Landlords 78 - Cess payers -
205 - Total 283
Liberals
Peter Fenlon - Landlords 18 - Cess Payers
- 295 -Total - 313 - Elected
Luke Nolan - Landlords 18 - Cess payers
292 - Total - 310
Kiltennal Division
Conservatives
Henry Newton - Landlords 115 - Cess
Payers 667 - Total 782 - Elected
Arthur Fitzmaurice - Landlords 115 - Cess
Payers 670 - Total 785 - Elected
Liberals
William Maher - Landlords 1 - Cess Payers
54 - Total 55
John Kearney - Landlords 1 - Cess payers
50 - Total 51
Borris Division Conservatives
John Rudkin - Landlords
83 - Cess Payers 455 - Total 538 - Elected
George Whitney - Landlords 83 - Cess
Payers 420 - Total 503 - Elected
Liberals
John Murphy - Landlords 40 –Cess Payers
211-Total 251
Edward Donoughoe - Landlords 40-Cess
payers 203 - Total 243
Bagenalstown division
Conservatives
B. B. Newton - Landlords 139 - Cess
Payers 419 -Total 558- Elected
Thomas Singleton - Landlords 139 - Cess
Payers 417 -Total 536 Elected
Liberals
Darby Donoghoe - Landlords
14 - Cess Payers 63 - Total 77
James Murphy - Landlords
14 - Cess payers 63 - Total 77
Idrone West Division
Conservatives
Wm. R. Stewart - Landlords 166 - Cess
Payers 499 - Total 665 - Elected
James Thomas - Landlords 126 - Cess
Payers 325 - Total 451
Wm. Fishbourne-Landlords
125 - Cess payers 327 - Total 452
Liberals
John Cummins - Landlords
72 - Cess Payers 492 - Total 564 - Elected
Edward Lyons - Landlords
74 - Cess Payers 486 - Total 560 - Elected
Pat Foley - Landlords 51 - Cess Payers
422 - Total 473
Kellistown Division Conservatives
Samuel Elliott - Landlords 190 - Cess
Payers - 308 - Total 498-Elected
Liberals
Luke Nolan - Landlords 62 - Cess Payers –
317 - Total 379
Fenagh and Nurney Division
Conservatives
Henry Gary - Landlords - 189 - Cess
Payers 540 – Total - 729- Elected
John Watson - Landlords - 195 - Cess
Payers - 511 - Total - 06 - Elected
Liberals
James Murphy - Landlords -18 - Cess
Payers - 228 - Total 246
Edward Cullen - Landlords - 18 - Cess
Payers - 207 - Total 225
Divisions Declared Without a Contest
Shrule - Peter Gale and Joseph Fishbourne
Graigue - John Haughton, William Butler
and Robert Farrell
Arles - Wm. C. Cooper, Denis Kelly
Summary of The Whole Conservative Guardians
Ex-officio
10
Guardians elected by Cess Payers 20
Total
30
Liberal Guardians
Total returned out of the whole Union of
the Liberal party 10 |
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