In the 1900s a way of farming life developed in the Irish countryside. This way of life remained the same until the 1960s.
At this time many farmers produced more than enough food to feed their own families. The rest of the produce was brought for sale to the nearest market town.
Man sitting on a donkey with a creel
This old photograph shows a man sitting on a donkey. The donkey also has a wicker basket called a creel strapped to its back. This was often used to carry turf back from the bog.
Man sitting on a donkey with a creel
Man sitting on a donkey with a creel
This old photograph shows a man sitting on a donkey. The donkey also has a wicker basket called a creel strapped to its back. This was often used to carry turf back from the bog.
This man was travelling to the local market on a donkey. He was going to buy and sell some food. What kind of things do you think he might have been carrying in his basket?
Examining the Evidence
This is a picture of a farmhouse taken in our great granddad's time.
Farm House Donegal (inline)
After the famine in 1845, Irelands agricultural system changed. Land enclosure became a common feature in the Irish landscape. Families began to delineate field boundaries on their rented lands. The land wars later that century and the land acts, saw the transfer of lands back into Irish hands. This ownership of land was a hard fought struggle, but only the beginning. In the poorest areas of Ireland, making productive land from rock or bog was a back breaking toil. The quality and size of your land became the epitome of wealth and status. In many cases, the ownership of land instead of setting families free, sometimes bound them in bitter rows and had a compelling effect on the attitude of the people.
Farm House Donegal (inline)
Farm House Donegal (inline)
After the famine in 1845, Irelands agricultural system changed. Land enclosure became a common feature in the Irish landscape. Families began to delineate field boundaries on their rented lands. The land wars later that century and the land acts, saw the transfer of lands back into Irish hands. This ownership of land was a hard fought struggle, but only the beginning. In the poorest areas of Ireland, making productive land from rock or bog was a back breaking toil. The quality and size of your land became the epitome of wealth and status. In many cases, the ownership of land instead of setting families free, sometimes bound them in bitter rows and had a compelling effect on the attitude of the people.
What can you see in this farm picture? Would you like to live in a place like this?
Look at this picture carefully. Now see if you can find the items that don't belong in the farmyard below.
Old Farmyard Scene
Old Farmyard Scene