Local history: Gems from Maynooth Studies in Local History

Analysis by historians of life at parish and townland level, as well as long-forgotten names from the past, forms the socially diverse and impressive tranche of short books in the Maynooth Studies in Local History. In Rural tensions in Nineteenth Century Knock, County Mayo, Frank Mayes discusses the reasons behind population changes, housing stock, land tenure, and the rise in literacy and the Irish language. An agricultural crisis which hit the country in the late 1870s led to crop failures affecting Mayo particularly hard.

Large groups of angry tenants gathered in Knock protesting against landlordism, shouting: “Three cheers for the Zulus!”

Communal violence was a problem and the area around Knock was known for its faction fights, described in a memoir from the time as “essentially an immensely popular and violent pastime”. Reference is made to the Anglo-Zulu war when Britain invaded Zululand in January 1879. Local newspapers such as the Connaught Telegraph and the Mayo Constitution carried extensive coverage of world affairs so local people were aware of the political situation. In one demonstration, large groups of angry tenants gathered in Knock protesting against landlordism, shouting: “Three cheers for the Zulus!”

The role of a specific landlord in other parts of Mayo is explored in The impact of the Great Famine on Sir William Palmer’s estates in Mayo, 1840-69 by the late David Byrne. An absentee landlord with residences in Dublin and Wales, Palmer’s property in Mayo was dispersed around five baronies: Tirawley, Burrishoole, Gallen, Carra and Murrisk.

Farmers in poor housing were ill-equipped to survive a prolonged potato crop failure and many tenants, who bore the brunt of the crisis, were unable to pay rents and consequently were evicted from their holdings. All of this demonstrated the power of landlords and in particular Palmer, who ruled his Mayo estates with an iron grip. The economic recovery in the mid-1850s led to an improved situation for the survivors of the Famine on his estates, but it was not until the introduction of reforms in the Land Act legislation from 1870 that the landlord’s power over his tenants was curtailed.

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The last 18 years of a large city-based livestock market are charted in The Dublin Cattle Market’s decline, 1955-73 by Declan O’Brien. The book evokes the period when the market reached its peak and was among the largest of any city in Europe. Held each Wednesday for more than 100 years, the market – located between Phibsboro and the Liffey quays in an area bordered by Prussia Street, Aughrim Street and St Joseph’s Road – was unable to respond to the challenges posed by the co-operative livestock marts and the emergence of the beef-processing industry.

Much of the book’s information is based on oral testimony and includes interviews with livestock auctioneers, farmers, butchers, a senior executive of the co-op organisation and a retired agricultural journalist. In the absence of written documentary sources, this multi-disciplinary approach paints a broad portrait of a rural enterprise in an urban setting. The author likens it to the national stock exchange representing a meeting of the city and country.

The hidden history behind the colourful political life of a twice-imprisoned man is documented in Peader Cowan (1903-62): Westmeath GAA Administrator and Political Maverick by Tom Hunt. Born in Co Cavan, Cowan became a dedicated socialist and republican as well as one of the most individualistic figures in Irish life but is largely unknown today.

Cowan demonstrated a keenly informed social conscience with a concern for the poor and marginalised. Ironically, he died in poverty in 1962 leaving an estate valued at just £5

Aside from his GAA work, his multifaceted roles included army officer and solicitor. He later joined the Labour Party, becoming director of organisation, and went on to be a founding member of Clann na Poblachta. He was also elected to Dáil Éireann for the Dublin North-East constituency and re-elected as an Independent deputy. Cowan demonstrated a keenly informed social conscience with a concern for the poor and marginalised. Ironically, he died in poverty in 1962 leaving an estate valued at just £5. In the author’s opinion, he had the courage to pursue his convictions regardless of the personal cost and he describes him as a man of considerable moral courage.

In his study of the Cork surgeon Denis Brenan Bullen (1802-66), Inspector of Anatomy for the Province of Munster, Michael V Hanna delineates the life of a controversial figure in the city’s medical history in the first part of the 19th century. A precocious and opinionated medical student, Bullen, from a Catholic professional background, became a leading surgeon whose career shone a light on the development of medical education in Cork.

In his lifetime he witnessed the discovery of vaccination and anaesthesia and was part of the cradle of intellectual, scientific and artistic life of the city. But he fell into disgrace through a bid for the presidency of Queen’s College Cork, which led directly to the loss of his own chair and his second son’s emigration to Australia. All books are published by Four Courts Press at €9.99.