The Gallaghers of Ballinrobe

Claremorris were swamped with as many as 750 soldiers,
led by officers of the Royal Artillery and 19th Hussars,
ready to break the “boycott.” Charles Boycott would leave
Ireland in disgrace by the end of the year. Soon there were
reports of “boycotting” all over Ireland. The mostly
nonviolent pressure was one of the most successful tactics
ever used against the British in Ireland.
Hostilities between the two countries eventually
abated with the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty on Dec.
26, 1921, which led to the Irish Free State. However, fierce
disagreements about the Treaty split Ireland into Civil War.
Michael Collins was a key figure on the pro-Treaty side. He
gave a speech in Castlebar in June 1922 that became a
target of anti-treaty forces. Railroad tracks were torn up in
an unsuccessful try keep him away. His speech was cut
short due to agitators in the crowd, and a woman was shot
in the ensuing panic. Less than five months later, Collins
was assassinated in an ambush in County Cork. The pro-
Treaty side prevailed in the war, which ended in April/May
1923.
THE COTTAGE
There are few aspects of rural Irish life more
romanticized than the wee, humble cottage. The people
who actually lived in them – often families of 10 or more –
probably had a more realistic view of their
accommodations than what is portrayed in many a song or
movie.
A most notable characteristic of the cottage is the
half door, an ingenious device that kept the children in and
the animals out. A secondary use was to allow in light and
fresh air; most cottages were damp and stuffy as a result of
small windows and smoke from the fireplace. A third use
was as a prop to lean on while smoking the pipe, gossiping
with neighbors or shouting that the dinner was ready.
The size and number of windows in a house were
curtailed by practicality – and to a lesser extent window
taxes. From 1799 until 1851 taxes were levied on houses
with more than six windows. The levies became known as
the “typhus tax” because of the resulting respiratory
problems caused by poor ventilation. However the main
reason for small windows was to retain heat in the winter
and keep things cool in the summer. The walls of a cottage
were typically about 2 feet thick to support the roof and
beams, leading to the attractive deep window reveals found
in most cottages. Roofs were usually constructed of
coupled rafters, then stuffed with turf for insulation, with
the exterior usually thatched.
In the mid-19th century, as far as the parish of
The thatched-roof cottage, such as this one preserved
near Ballinrobe, is a symbol of simpler times in the Irish
countryside.
Ballinrobe was concerned, the cabins of the poor were
“built with dry walls of limestone generally” and plastered
inside with mortar or clay. Their size was commonly about
16 feet wide and from 20 to 30 feet long.
The fireplace was the heart and soul of the
cottage, around which daily life revolved – cooking,
drying, heating and social gatherings. The fire was never
allowed to extinguish, with ashes strewn over it at night to
keep the embers alive for morning. The importance of the
hearth in cottage life is illustrated in the famous saying
loosely translated as “There’s no place like home.” The
literal translation is “There’s no hearth like your own
hearth” (níl aon tinteán mar do thinteán féin).
CUTTING TURF
There is no smell
associated with the West of
Ireland more than the sweet
aroma of a turf fire burning in a
poorly ventilated home. Turf,
known in other parts of the world
as peat, fueled homes in Ireland
for centuries. It is a byproduct of
fallen trees from a time when the
country was covered by forests.
In our parents' time, and
much further back, the turf was
cut from the bog using a slean, a
sort of specialized, two-sided
spade. This was hard, backbreaking
work. One man
would dig into the plot of bog
The sleane, used for
cutting turf.
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