The museum is housed on what was the Fitzgerald Estate, which comprised approximately 8,300 acres at its largest. The estate would have been farmed by many families who would have paid rent to the Fitzgeralds for their tiny parcels of land.
The large Country House is in the Victorian style and was built in 1865. Unfortunately, the house was off limits to visitors, as they are updating the wallpaper.
Country House
Life was very hard for rural people in Ireland, as they struggled to make a living off the land. As is the case today as well, the quality of the land determined the quality of life for the family. Poor quality land barely provided sustenance, while better land provided sustenance, and a bit of extra income.
The majority of tools and household items as well as clothing, were handmade by the family. Most families relied on farm animals and crops for food. Their source of heat was peat, which they cut by hand and piled to dry for winter.
The hearth was the heart of the home, the women of the household had to maintain the hearth as it provided heat, light and was used for cooking meals using produce from the farm.
The most intriguing exhibit for us was the exhibit displaying and describing the use of straw. Straw was plentiful and cheap; therefore, it was used in a myriad of ways. Straw was coiled into rope or plaited. Wheat and rye straw were coiled, while oat straw was plaited. Straw was used to make horse harness, pack saddles, furniture, mattresses, baskets, and the costumes of the ‘Strawboys.’
The Strawboys were young men who would disguise themselves by dressing in straw costumes and then they would crash weddings. Although they were uninvited wedding guests, they were expected to arrive. The Strawboys would show up at the house of the wedding and demand a drink, sometimes they would also demand money. It was considered very unlucky to refuse to meet the demands of the Strawboys.
Plaited Straw Chair
Hen's Nest
Strawboy Hat
Photo of women tending a lazy bed for potato planting
We stopped in Castlebar to walk around the town, Castlebar is the main shopping town for the area. We finally found the Brewery Cup, which was a pub, but is now a pleasant little coffee shop. It was really cold today, so we attempted to warm up with a really good cappuccino, prior to driving home.
The History of Ireland continues...
Irish Wars 1919 -1923
This was not an all out war, it was on a small scale and was mainly fought in Dublin and Munster (Cork and Tipperary). The Irish Police were reinforced by British soldiers, known as the Black and Tans. WWI vets also assisted the police force. Prior to a truce in 1921, approximately 50% of the casualties were civilians. The terms of the truce stated that Ireland would be permanently partitioned, Northern Ireland would consist of six counties and would have their own parliament and government, but control would remain in the British Parliament. There was no provision for the protection of the rights of the Catholics.
There was to be a government and parliament in the rest of Ireland, but this was ignored as the terms of the truce did not meet the declaration of independence and all that the nationalists had fought for. The Sinn Fein continued with their Dail, this secretive government was successful during the war and was quietly slipping away from the control of the English.
In 1922, the Anglo-Irish Treaty was approved by the Dail, but the English would not let go, the treaty provided a ‘dominion status’ without sovereignty, which remained in England. Ireland did achieve fiscal autonomy, control over internal affairs, evacuation of the British army, the establishment of an Irish army, and a role in international affairs. Ireland was to be referred to as the Irish Free State. There was no agreement regarding the Treaty in Ireland; it was supported by: the Catholic hierarchy, the Catholic property class and large farmers, and the Dublin IRA supporters of Michael Collins. The Treaty was opposed by IRA commanders outside of Dublin, the poorer people living farther away from Dublin and those who lived in areas that were less affected by the previous violence.
Civil war broke out between pro-Treaty and anti-Treaty supporters. The war began with the destruction of the Public Records Office and historical archive in the Four Courts buildings in Dublin by the anti-Treaty forces. From the viewpoint of one interested in the historical record, this destruction was most unfortunate, but the intent seemed to be the obliteration of the history of Ireland so that they may start anew. The anti-Treaty forces were driven out of their poorly defensible positions and war spread into the countryside. The pro-Treaty force of 40,000, well equipped with British arms, took control of the anti-Treaty areas of Cork, Kerry, Limerick and Clare.
In August, Michael Collins was ambushed in Cork and killed. Protestant country residences were burned and in the spring of 1923, the IRA stopped fighting.
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