Working the Land in Ireland
Lowland areas of Ireland were worked very intensively. The main crops were flax, oats and potatoes. Flax was used in the cottage linen industry, oats were sold in the marketplace and potatoes were a food crop. Growing and harvesting these crops required much labour. Farmers usually paid their workers by allowing them to have a small plot of land for a house and to grow potatoes. In return they gave the farmer a number of days’ work.
Flax
The fibre contained in flax is used to produce linen, so flax was an important cash crop in Ireland. It was produced as follows. After flowering and ripening in July, the flax was pulled by hand and soaked in a water-filled dam for one to two weeks to ret (break down the outer coating...
More...
Ploughs
This section traces developments in the use of ploughs in Ireland. It notes how the Great Famine of 1845 -1851 impacted on the availability of labour and the changing nature of agricultural production.
Before 1800, Irish ploughs were usually made of wood, and only an iron cutting edge. They were...
More...
Farm Animals
Farm animals were not a common sight in Ulster during the 1700s and early 1800s. Sheep and cattle were only reared on high or very wet ground, or land not fit for crop production. Milk cows had been more common in earlier times, but as crops such as potatoes were more valuable and yielded more fo...
More...
Turf Bank
Turf has been used as a fuel in Ireland for at least 1300 years. However, by 1700, most of Ireland’s forests had been cut down, so from then on, turf became the most important fuel. Turf is dried, partially rotted plant material that is laid down in boggy, waterlogged conditions. Turf banks...
More...
Ask an Expert
If you would like further information about this collection you may contact the
curator by following this link and
completing the short form.