School: Baile Mhic Dáibhid (Ballydevitte) (roll number 3854)
- Location:
- Ballydevitt Beg, Co. Donegal
- Teacher: Cathal Mac an Luain
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 1031, Page 372
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- (continued from previous page)large “stroup,” about six feet long, on it. The porridge, which was very light, and was called “gruel,” was boiled in this and each person received an equal share.The meal which the government distributed to relieve the people was called “Relief meal.” A story is told of a Catholic man, whose children were starving and who went to a Protestant minister, one of the distributors, to ask him for some relief meal to feed his hungry family. The minister met him at the door and asked him his business. He explained that his children were starving and asked the minister for some meal. “Well” said the minister “they can eat one another.” Some time after this the minister became insane and died trying to take bites out of of [sic] his own skin.People died in great numbers great sickness having followed the famine. There were some other smaller famines due to the failure of the potato-crop but these affected only a few districts. On one occasion a man had a number of men employed building and there were not enough potatoes in the house to give them their dinner
- Collector
- Patrick J. Muldoon
- Gender
- Male
- Age
- 12
- Address
- Doonan, Co. Donegal
- Informant
- Seosaibh O' Maoldúin
- Relation
- Unknown
- Gender
- Male
- Age
- 50
- Occupation
- Saor adhmaid
- Address
- Doonan, Co. Donegal
