The 1960s

Harvesting Potatoes

This is a picture of a farmer, Tommy Neale, harvesting potatoes in Ballinapark, Co. Wicklow in the 1960s.

Courtesy of Wicklow County Libraries

Harvesting Potatoes
Courtesy of Wicklow County Libraries

Harvesting Potatoes

This is a picture of a farmer, Tommy Neale, harvesting potatoes in Ballinapark, Co. Wicklow in the 1960s.

Courtesy of Wicklow County Libraries

Enlarge image

In the 1960s, the farmers protested a lot. Almost every other sector in Ireland except farming was doing well. Cattle prices had hit rock bottom and incomes were pitiful.

Charles Haughey was Minister for Agriculture at the time but he refused to meet with farming representatives for a long time. Many people did not fully understand the desperate situation of the farmers. During this time, many people considered them lazy.

However, the protests managed to highlight the situation, and in the late 1960s there was progress in certain areas.