Lady Clare

This Lady Clare I was told, some twelve years ago, was a gentleman in disguise, who went about the country, inducing the laboring people to swear they would not work for less than a stipulated sum, much greater than present wages, with sundry advantages beside. And if the landlord refused compliance, they would turn out in the night, and dig up his meadows, so that be would be compelled to till them. This game it was said was now in operation in Clare, and the newly initiated policeman, hearing I had come to visit the poor, determined to show his loyalty to government by bringing the lady before it in due season.

Ireland’s Welome to the Stranger is one of the best accounts of Irish social conditions, customs, quirks and habits that you could wish for. The author, Mrs Asenath Nicholson, was an American widow who travelled extensively in Ireland on the eve of the Great Famine and meticulously observed the Irish peasantry at work and play, as well as noting their living conditions and diet. The book is also available from Kindle.